ROD The Fanfiction
by Admiral
Summary: Can all your favorite characters from the series live together without driving each other crazy?
1. Meet The Sumiregawas

**DISCLAIMER:** _R.O.D. and all related characters are the property of Shuei Sha (Ultra Jump and Superdash), Manga Entertainment and New Generation Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

**R.O.D. - THE FAN FICTION**

**By Darrin Colbourne**

"I think you're going to be happy here, Miss Sumiregawa," the real estate agent said as he showed his client through her new house.

"I hope so," Nenene Sumiregawa said with a sigh. "Now that I think about it, it may not be big enough."

The real estate agent blinked in surprise. "Three bedrooms, two baths, an attic, plenty of closet space…it's the biggest available house in the ward, a relative stone's throw away from Jinbocho…"

"I know, just like I asked you to find, and I'm grateful, but the reasons I asked for all of that have got me thinking that this place may not be big enough after all."

"Why's that?"

"I'm going to have a lot of people moving in with me."

"Family?"

"In a way."

"Well, this house is big enough to hold a lot of people."

"It is, but it's not the people I'm worried about." She sighed again as she looked around.

"Is something wrong?" The agent asked.

"Maybe I should have just bought a library…" Nenene muttered.

* * *

Two weeks later, Nenene and her "family" were all moved into the new house. Once the moving trucks were gone she gathered them all in the living room and had them sit on the floor in a line. She remained standing and paced back and forth in front of them while hitting them with the best "stern sensei" look she could manage. From her left to right were sitting Junior and Nancy Makuhari, Yomiko Readman, Michelle Chan, Maggie Mui and Anita King. Nenene didn't say anything until she was sure she had everyone's attention. "All right, listen up! Here's how this is going to work. Yomiko, Nancy and I will sleep in the master bedroom. Michelle, you and your sisters will take the middle bedroom. Junior, that leaves you with the last bedroom." 

Of course, Anita protested immediately. "Hey! _No fair!_ How come he gets his own room?!"

Nenene walked over and rubbed the top of Anita's head, aggravating the girl further. "Because, Brat," Nenene said, "he's going to be trapped for God-knows how long in a house with six nearly pathological women. He's going to need someplace to get away from all of us. Besides, when we have guests staying overnight _he's_ going to be the one to give up his room and sleep on the couch."

Michelle beamed. "See, Anita? Nenene has everything worked out!"

Nenene turned to her. "That's right, and one of the things I've worked out is that I'm not paying the upkeep on this place all by myself, so to do your part you're moving your detective agency's headquarters here, and you'll contribute part of your profits to the household budget."

"Well, of course we will!" Michelle said.

"Oh, sure," Anita huffed. "It's not like we never made enough money from detective work to keep our _own_ place. Oh, wait a minute…"

"Anita…" Maggie muttered.

Nenene gave Anita's head one last rub before she stepped over to Yomiko. "You're pitching in too, my dear," she said to her good friend. "Didn't you used to be a teacher before you started working for the evil library?"

"Um, actually I used to do both at the same time," Yomiko said, "but my work for the British Library did tend to pre-empt my substitute teaching jobs."

"Well, obviously that's not going to be a problem anymore, so starting tomorrow you're going job hunting. It'll be fun. You start out by reading."

Now Yomiko beamed. "Really??"

Nenene smiled back. "Really. They're called the classifieds, remember? They're in every newspaper."

Yomiko blushed and adjusted her glasses as she came to her senses. "Right. Of course. Silly me."

"Yep, silly you." Nenene bent to pinch Yomiko's cheeks, then she straightened up when she was done and looked around the group. "Okay, for all our sakes I think it's best if we leave the cooking to those of us who know how, so that'll be Maggie's job."

Junior raised his hand. "Actually…I might be able to help with the cooking."

Nenene turned to him. "You do a lot of cooking?"

Junior blushed and looked away. "Well…not a lot, but I can follow the instructions in a cookbook."

"That's more than I can do," Nenene said with a shrug. "Okay, so Maggie and Junior will handle the cooking, and _everybody_ will help with the cleaning, starting right now. I want all the boxes in this house unpacked and your rooms organized and ready to be slept in by this evening, and I want them _kept_ clean. That means when you bibliophiles want to start piling books everywhere you'll pile them in that really big attic that I just spent lots of good money on, you got me?"

"Yes!" Yomiko, Michelle and Maggie said with a nod and a smile.

Nenene nodded back and put her hands on her hips. "Well, what are you all still doing sitting there? Up to your rooms! Now now now!!"

The others jumped and scurried past Nenene to the stairs and hurried up to their rooms. Anita took a second at the bottom of the staircase to stick her tongue out at Nenene, but her sisters grabbed her and pulled her away before Nenene could respond.

When everyone was out of sight, Nenene smiled a real smile. _Maybe this will work out after all, _she thought.

* * *

She wasn't as confident two weeks later when she returned from a weekend business trip and found Yomiko, Michelle, Maggie and Nancy sitting around the living room table reading. Next to each woman was a stack of books and magazines as tall as one of the children. Shocked, Nenene's first impulse was to check the bedrooms. She ran upstairs and found the master bedroom and middle bedroom overrun with books. 

She was livid when she came back downstairs. "I thought I told you to keep all your books in the attic!"

The others just looked at her for a second, then Michelle, Maggie and Yomiko blushed and turned away while Nancy timidly raised her hand. "Um, we tried, but the attic is full."

Nenene shot her a confused look, then she ran back upstairs. She returned a moment later looking completely stunned. "How?" She breathed. "Even all of you couldn't have bought enough books to fill the attic in the three days I was gone."

"Oh, well we didn't buy all of them," Yomiko said. "Most of them are from my place in Jinbocho."

Nenene lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to fight the headache that was coming on. "Yomiko, I thought the whole point of us keeping your apartment was so that you wouldn't have to move any of those books _here_!"

"Oh, it was," Yomiko said, "but you see" - she adjusted her glasses - "I had to get caught up on all the things you brought me - thank you for that, by the way…"

"You're welcome…" Nenene growled.

"Yes, well…I didn't want to let myself get caught up in something while I was there and not come back, and I couldn't carry everything here by myself, so I asked the other girls to help me…"

Michelle piped up then. "Oh! And while we were there Maggie and I saw so many books that we'd always wanted but could never find, so Yomiko said it would be all right if we borrowed them!"

Then Nancy spoke. "And I remembered all the books Yomiko had that I always wished I could share with my baby but never had the chance, but now that Junior's with us I can, so I brought all those books back too."

"And of course," Yomiko said, "once we had all those books here and went through them we realized that there were some volumes that were missing…"

"And _that's_ when you went book shopping." Nenene finished.

Yomiko nodded. "Yes, that's right."

Nenene just stared at them for the longest time, then she sighed and shook her head. "I see now," she said. "I have to kill all of you. It's the only way." The other women lowered their heads in shame, and Nenene just let out a defeated sigh and walked over to the table to sit next to Yomiko. "So, whatcha reading?"

Yomiko brightened immediately and began to describe the novel in her hands, but she was interrupted by the phone ringing. Maggie was closest to it, so she answered. "Sumiregawa residence. Oh, hold on." She passed the phone to Yomiko. "It's for Nenene."

Yomiko passed the phone on and Nenene stood as she answered. "Hello? Daddy! How are you? That's great! No, I'm fine. That? That was Maggie. I told you about her. Yep, that one. So, what's up? Really? When? Oh, you have to come stay with us. Oh, no problem at all. We have plenty of room. Besides, there's no furniture in the old place anyway. We're all moved out. You have the new address? Right…right…right! Okay, when's your flight due to arrive? Hang on…let me get something to write it down." She extended her hand in the others' general direction and snapped her fingers. Michelle took the hint and scrambled to get Nenene a pen and paper. "Okay, go ahead…uh-huh…and you're coming into Narita? I think I'll be in the city that day. Hold on." More finger snapping prompted Maggie to fetch Nenene's appointment book. "Okay, let me see…yeah. Okay, I'll pick you up myself. I'm positive! It's no trouble at all. I'll see you then. I love you, too, and give my love to Mom. Right! Bye-bye." She hung up then, closed her eyes and smiled, letting herself get lost in thought.

When she didn't say anything for a minute or so, Yomiko said, "Um, Nenene?"

"Now you losers are really going to have to shape up," she said before turning to flash them an evil grin, "because _my parents_ are coming home!"

* * *

"I wonder what Nenene's parents are like?" Anita said later that night. She and Junior were washing the dinner dishes together. When Junior didn't answer she continued. "I'll bet they're super-strict, super-conservative old fuddy-duddies." 

Junior gave her a sidelong glance as he dried a plate. "Why would you think that?"

"They'd have to be to raise somebody as uptight as Nenene. I think all that yelling and domineering is just her rebelling against a repressed childhood."

"Nancy said Nenene sounded genuinely happy to hear from her father."

"Pure denial. She's just trying to fool herself into thinking her childhood was perfect."

Junior smiled a little. "I don't know. It seems to me that she couldn't have been too repressed if her parents moved to another country across the Pacific and left her alone here willingly."

Anita wheeled on him and raised a finger to make her point. "Ah, but what if that was part of their nefarious plan?! They drive her nuts while they're here, then they leave her here all by herself and see what happens!"

Junior just looked at her. "Has your imagination always been this active?"

Anita's stance softened just a little. "No. It's been getting worse ever since my sisters started rubbing off on me."

They smiled at each other, then went back to the dishes in silence.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maggie and Michelle were reading in the living room. "Nenene's right, Y'know," Michelle said. "We need to be on our best behavior when her parents come to visit. Let's make the best first impression we can. Agreed?" 

"Agreed," Maggie said, then after a moment's pause, "Do you think they'll like us?"

"I don't see why not. Nenene likes us."

"But that took a while, didn't it, Sis?"

"Well, that's why we have to make a great first impression when they arrive. We want them to accept us and to respect Nenene's already having done so. Whether you ask for it or not, approval from family members is important. We should make a plan. It should be our primary mission to be considered worthy in the elder Sumiregawas' eyes."

"Worthy…" Maggie muttered. Her voice trailed off as she got lost in her book again.

* * *

In the master bedroom, Nenene was at her computer working on her latest novel while Yomiko and Nancy sat at opposite ends of the couch behind her reading. Nenene hoped that they would have retreated to their own beds by the time she got tired, but she just knew that, as had happened so many times since they moved in, she would simply have to add her own Tired Author body to the pile of The Paper and Miss Deep draped across the couch cushions. That could be dangerous in more ways than one. One time when that happened she woke the next morning laying on the kitchen floor. Nancy had phased her downstairs in her sleep. 

Just as that memory came back to her, as if on cue, Nancy asked, "Nenene, was your mother a good mother?"

Nenene never turned away from the screen. "Of course she was. Why do you ask?"

There was a short pause, then Nancy said, "Do you think she can show me how to be one?"

Yomiko looked up from her book. "I think you're a fine mother, Nancy," she said.

"I don't know, Yomiko. Junior and I were separated for so long, and even now we don't spend nearly as much time together as mother and son as I'd like. Sometimes I worry that he'd rather have Michelle for a mother than me."

Nenene smirked. "What he wants isn't the problem. With Michelle you have to mark your territory, or else she pounces on it. Especially if it's a kid."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Nancy," Yomiko said. "You have plenty of time to bond with Junior now. None of us will let you get separated again."

"Still," Nenene said, "if you really want to talk to Mom about it, go ahead. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to impart her words of wisdom on how she raised such a brilliant and talented only child."

There was a moment of silence, then Nancy's voice shook as she said, "Oh…that would be….great…" and pondered what Junior would be like raised to be exactly like Nenene.

Nenene stopped typing a moment later and turned to face Nancy, saw the look on her face, then grinned. After that all three women burst out laughing.

* * *

The day of the Sumiregawas' arrival came three days later. That morning Nenene dressed in a dark suit for the day's business. Nancy, Michelle and Maggie were sitting at the door and listening to her as she put on her shoes. "Okay, I have meetings with my editor and agents all morning and I have some business to take care of before I pick up my parents, so I'll be out all day. Junior and Anita will be back before we are so I want them dressed up and looking like angels when we get here." 

"Of course! They'll be irresistible!" Michelle said with a smile.

Nenene checked her watch. "And speaking of dressing up…Yomiko's still unconscious right now but eventually she'll wake up and start reading again. You guys can make clothing out of paper, right?" Michelle nodded. "Make her something nice to wear. I don't think she _owns_ any other clothes besides that library uniform. I want her out of it and in something more formal and pretty. Oh…and see if you can pry her nose out of whatever book it's in long enough to give her a good bath."

"No problem!" Nancy said with a smile.

Nenene nodded. "Okay, then. I'll see you this afternoon." With that she turned and left.

The other women let out a breath of relief when the door closed behind her. "No problem," Nancy muttered. "Who am I kidding? There are times when I'm surprised Yomiko remembers to go to the bathroom when she gets engrossed in a book. Getting her to take a bath might require expert brainwashing."

"She needs a firm hand," Maggie muttered.

"It would probably be easier if Nenene left Yomiko one of her notes," Nancy said.

Michelle sighed. "Maybe, but Nenene left it up to us. Let's make a plan before Yomiko wakes up."

* * *

Yomiko woke up a short time later. Her eyes blinked a few times as she became aware of her surroundings, then she realized there was something covering her face. She sat up on the couch and pulled it off, feeling the glue of some masking tape peeling off her forehead. It was a piece of printer paper, and on it was marked in large characters: 

CLEAN YOURSELF UP! UP! UP!

It was written in Nenene's handwriting. She smiled at it for a second, then thought about it, then gave one of her underarms a sniff. "Oh," she said, and she resolved right then to take a nice bath. That was exactly what she was going to do when she stood up and turned to leave the bedroom. Then she spotted the spy novel she had fallen asleep reading the night before sticking out from behind one of the throw pillows, and _then_ she remembered that she had just gotten to the point where the American CIA agent was about to kill the KGB spy and steal the submarine, and _then _she remembered it was a first edition paperback copy and it might be damaged if she took it into the bathtub with her.

_I have plenty time to get cleaned up before Nenene's parents arrive._ With that happy thought she sat back down on the couch and picked up where she had left off.

* * *

Later still, Nancy, Michelle and Maggie were standing outside the cracked-open master bedroom door, peeking in. "I wonder how long she's been up?" Nancy whispered. 

"It doesn't matter," Michelle whispered back. "Her bath will be ready in a minute. You two know what to do?" Nancy and Maggie nodded. "I'll give you the signal when it's ready." Michelle tiptoed off to the upstairs bathroom while the others went back to watching Yomiko.

* * *

As the Russian attack sub was about to launch its torpedoes, a nagging voice in the back of Yomiko's head tried to remind her that she was supposed to be doing something. She paused for a moment to try and remember what it was. When she couldn't, she shrugged and turned her attention back to the book. A few moments later she half-heard Nancy walk in and come over to the couch, humming merrily. When she was standing in front of Yomiko she put her hands behind her back and bent down to ask Yomiko, "What are you reading?" 

Yomiko didn't look up as she said with a smile, "A fascinating Cold War fiction! I can hardly put it down!"

Yomiko didn't notice the hint of mischief in Nancy's voice when she purred, "I knew you'd say that."

Nancy grabbed the top of the book with two fingers and ever so gently phased it out of Yomiko's hands. The look of shock on Yomiko's face amused Nancy no end as she began to play "Keep-Away" with the book. "Nancy!" Yomiko yelled as she grabbed at her friend. "Stop that! Give me back my book!" At one point Yomiko almost got her hands on Nancy's waist, but Nancy just smiled and phased through them and then through the floor and out of the room.

"Ooh!" Yomiko exclaimed as she stomped out of the bedroom. She only got just outside the door when two strong arms scooped her up off the floor and she felt herself being carried off to the main bathroom. It didn't take long for her to realize she was being abducted by one of Maggie's familiars. "Maggie!" she called out when she spotted the tall Paper Sister standing outside the bathroom door. "Let me down and help me get my book back from Nancy!"

Maggie simply smiled and waved as her paper puppet carried Yomiko past her and into the bathroom. Inside the familiar carried her over to the large bathtub. A hot bubble bath had already been prepared. Yomiko could feel the steam rising off the water.

She looked around and spotted Michelle standing nearby. "Michelle," she said, "do something about your sister!"

Michelle smiled prettily. "I'm sorry, _sensei_, but we have our orders!" With that she raised her paper bow. Yomiko went pale when she saw Michelle had several arrows aimed right at her. Nancy phased into the bathroom just a split-second before Michelle let loose and touched Yomiko's ankle. The Paper felt herself phase out of her clothing and fall into the tub with a heavy splash. When she recovered she looked at the nearby wall and realized Michelle had pinned her clothes to it with the arrows.

"We'll wash those later," Michelle said cheerily.

Yomiko slammed her fists in the water, splashing out more of it. "Was all this _really_ necessary?" She demanded of her captors.

"Apparently it was," Nancy said as she held Nenene's note in front of Yomiko's face, then she plucked off Yomiko's glasses while her friend was distracted. Yomiko tried to protest that action, but Nancy held her down with one hand while she passed the glasses off to the familiar. "He'll keep them safe. Right, Maggie?"

"Right!" Maggie said, just a little more chipper than usual.

Yomiko sputtered a little, then she sighed and settled down in the tub. When they were sure she wouldn't fight anymore, Nancy and Michelle got ready to join her. Nancy phased out of her clothes, while Michelle let the paper that comprised her daytime dress fall apart and float gently to the floor.

"Um, I can bathe myself," Yomiko said feebly as the others stepped into the water.

"This will save time," Michelle said as she settled in.

"And it will be fun," Nancy cooed as she got close to Yomiko. Then she and Michelle each grabbed a soft cloth and some liquid soap, then began to gently bathe Yomiko.

Yomiko closed her eyes and relaxed as the sensation of it hit her. "I suppose you're right," she whispered. "It's just…" Her eyes half-opened. "…I was getting to the _really_ good part in the book."

"It's okay, sensei," Maggie said. She held up the book. "We saved the page. I'll read it to you. Where did you leave off?"

Yomiko closed her eyes again and moaned a little before she answered, "The Russians were setting up their torpedo shot."

"Right." Maggie closed the toilet cover and sat down on it while she found the spot on the page. Just before she started she looked at the tub again. All three of the women in it were soaked, and some of the suds Yomiko had been covered with had rubbed off onto Nancy and her Big Sister.

Maggie turned away, smiled and blushed hard. "Wow…" she muttered before she turned back to the book and began reading aloud.

* * *

Nenene rented a car after she was done with her business meetings and used it to run her errands before heading off to Narita International Airport to pick up her parents. She would get there an hour before the flight was due to arrive. Once at the airport she killed time by reading part of a paperback novel available at the duty-free shop and jotting some plot notes for her own book down in a small notepad. When she heard the announcement that said her parents' flight had arrived she rushed to the proper gate and stood in the crowd of people waiting. When passengers started coming out of the gate, she raised a large hand-made banner marked "Sumiregawa" in bold characters. 

Kirika Sumiregawa, walking just a step ahead of her husband, spotted the banner after a casual glance to her right. She squealed like a little girl when she saw who was holding it, and she tried her best not to knock anyone over as she rushed to hug her daughter.

Eiichi Sumiregawa smiled as he watched the happy reunion for a few moments before walking over to join in. Nenene tried to squeeze both of them to death and all three of them laughed and cried a little as they enjoyed each others' warmth. When they finally broke apart, Nenene said, "Look at you two! You look great!"

Kirika grinned. "It's the California sun," she said as she faux-modeled herself. Kirika was about Nenene's height and maybe a little plumper than necessary, probably from too much rich American food. Still, she looked very attractive in her blue dress and jacket, which complimented her long auburn hair.

"Ah, yes" Eiichi said, "which you get in between the California rain, the California brush fires, the California earthquakes, the California mudslides…" Kirika stopped him with a swat on his shoulder. Nenene could see that Sumiregawa-_san_ had dressed formally for the trip. He was in a three piece suit the same dark color as hers.

"Don't let him fool you," Kirika said. "He loves it there. If he didn't have to be in Japan on business we'd probably never make it back here."

"Well, I'm glad to have you back no matter what the reason," Nenene said, then she looked at them carefully. "No carry-ons?"

"Bah!" Eiichi said. "We checked everything. You can't get out of an airport over there if the security people think they need to search you for something. It's just easier."

"Okay, but that's a really long flight. I think I'd go nuts if all I could do is just sit there."

"The movie wasn't bad," Kirika said with a shrug, "and _he_ slept most of the way."

"The only way to fly," Eiichi grinned.

Nenene grinned back. "Well, come on. Let's get your luggage. I rented a car for us."

A short time later, with her parents and their things packed into her rental, Nenene was driving home at a leisurely pace. "Now, you're sure we won't be too crowded there?" Kirika said from the front passenger seat. "Your father and I can always stay at a hotel."

"I promise it won't be a problem," Nenene said. "You'll have your own room while you're there. It's already been settled. Besides, everybody there is pretty much used to living in a crowd."

"Oh, really?" Eiichi said from the back seat. "I seem to recall one of the things you always guarded jealously was your privacy."

"Well," Nenene said, "let's just say _they_ got me used to living in a crowd."

"I have to admit, I'm anxious to meet everyone," Kirika said. "Some of the stories you've told us about them just seem so fantastic! It's like your life has just turned into one big _manga_ since you first met Yomiko."

Nenene glanced at her mother in shock, then she thought about it as she turned back to the road. "Holy crap," she said. "I never thought about it that way, and it's a frightening thought!"

"She's right," Eiichi professed. "In a really good manga, all the heroes die."

Nenene rolled her eyes. "Great, Dad. Thanks for making me feel at ease."

Eiichi chuckled as Kirika reached back to swat him again.

* * *

"It's a beautiful home," Kirika said as they pulled up in front of the house. 

"On the outside, sure," Nenene said. "I can't promise how beautiful it will be when we get in there."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Eiichi said. His attention was drawn to the two signs hung on the fenceposts by the front gate. One said "Sumiregawa," which made sense. The other made him raise an eyebrow. "'Paper Sisters Detective Company'?"

"That's Maggie, Anita and Michelle," Nenene said as she parked. "I told them they should set up shop here. That way, they can help with the bills and I can keep them out of trouble. Let's go inside. Your bags will be taken care of."

The Sumiregawas got out of the car and let their daughter lead the way up the walk to the front door. Nenene said a quick, silent prayer before opening the door. "Hello!" She called inside. "We're back!" As they stepped further in, Nenene took note of all the pairs of shoes placed neatly just inside the entrance. "Looks like everybody's home," she said.

Just then Maggie walked briskly into the front hall. She stood straight in front of the trio and bowed politely. "Welcome home, Nenene," she said, "and welcome Mr. and Mrs. Sumiregawa. May I take your things?"

Neither of them could answer right away. They were too busy staring in awe at the girl. It wasn't just her height - Eiichi considered himself tall because he had a few inches on both his wife and daughter, but Maggie towered over all of them - but she had also chosen to wear what looked like men's clothes, straight slacks, a vest, a white button-down shirt and tie.

Nenene sighed. "Mom, Dad, this is Maggie." She turned to Maggie. "We'll be fine. Would please get their things out of the car?" She handed Maggie the keys.

"Yes, Ma'am," Maggie said. She blushed a little as she passed the Sumiregawas, then she put on her shoes and headed out to the car.

When the door was closed, Eiichi leaned over to Nenene and whispered in her ear, "_That_ was a _girl?_"

"Yep," Nenene whispered back. "Welcome to my manga."

Just then Anita and Junior came out. Junior was in a boy's suit complete with short pants and Anita was in a frilly pink and white dress. Each child was carrying a pair of slippers. "Welcome to our home, Mr. and Mrs. Sumiregawa!" They said in unison.

Kirika gushed, "Aren't you just the most precious things?"

_Nice job, Michelle_, Nenene thought with a smile as her parents took off their shoes and let the children put the slippers on them. Then everyone took off their jackets and let Junior and Anita take them to be hung up. 

As Nenene handed her jacket to Anita, the girl hissed quietly, "You owe us _both_ big time for this!"

"Suffer, small one," Nenene said with an evil grin and a rub of Anita's head.

"Where are the others?" Eiichi said as the children left.

Nenene led the way out of the entrance hall. "They're probably just…" she began, then she couldn't speak when she saw what was waiting for them in the living room. "…in here."

Michelle, Nancy and Yomiko were all wearing smooth, form-fitting _cheongsam_ dresses. Michelle's was the same sleeveless, silky white one Nenene had seen her in before. Yomiko's was long sleeved and a sparkly red, which looked awkward with her glasses and her shy stance, while Nancy's was short-sleeved and deep blue. Michelle was standing between the others, making the three of them look like a living, curvaceous French flag. When she saw the Sumiregawas, Michelle beamed immediately. "Welcome to our home!" She called out. "Please, come in! Sit down, weary travelers! Let us make you feel at home!"

Nobody could speak for a minute, then Nenene found her voice. "Um, Mom, Dad, these are, from right to left, Yomiko, Michelle and Nancy. Ladies, these are my parents."

"Um, hello," Kirika said with a slight bow.

"Wow…" was all Eiichi could mutter when he found his voice. The grunt earned him a shoulder-punch from his wife.

Michelle, still beaming, walked up to Kirika and bowed deeply. "Hello and welcome!" she said when she rose again. "As Nenene-sensei said, I'm Michelle, and it is my duty - nay, my _privilege_ - to make your stay with us as comfortable and pleasurable as possible! Please, do sit down and let us make you comfortable!" She ushered them toward the big sofa in the living room while surreptitiously signaling to Nancy and Yomiko. The others took the cue and trotted into the kitchen to get appetizers. "Maggie will have dinner ready soon, but we have many delicacies for you to sample in the meantime, and we can bring you tea, coffee, anything you'd like!"

"I'd like some tea," Kirika said. She was a little overwhelmed.

"I'm fine," Eiichi said, maintaining what composure he still had.

Michelle nodded to each of them. "I'll be right back!" With that she trotted off to the kitchen.

Nenene, flustered, said, "I just need a minute…" to her parents and trotted off after her. In the kitchen, she confronted Michelle. "Are you three _insane_ wearing those??"

Michelle didn't bat an eyelash. "Well, you said I should make Yomiko look pretty, and I should make the little ones adorable, so I thought Nancy and I should look pretty, too." Suddenly she pouted and pinched her left cheek. "I thought you'd like the way we look in them."

"You're gorgeous," Nenene said, "and that's kind of the problem! I just wanted you to look well-dressed. I don't want you to break up my parents' marriage!"

"Do you really think I'm gorgeous in this, Nenene?" Yomiko suddenly asked. "Because it doesn't feel right to me. It's made of paper and I'm not sure of the style. If you'd like, I can change back into my clothes…"

Nenene cut her off with a pointed finger. "Don't you dare!" She said. She turned to Michelle. "You're all fine. Don't change a thing." Michelle brightened up again.

* * *

In the living room, Kirika leaned toward her husband and whispered, "I don't think they were wearing any underwear under those dresses." 

"Odd," Eiichi deadpanned, "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Oh, you…" Kirika grumped as Eiichi chuckled. The sound of the front door drew their attention to the entrance hallway. After a second or two they spotted Maggie walking in carrying Eiichi's suits. They wondered for a moment if she would make another trip, until they saw the rest of their luggage being handled by thin, life-sized paper dolls.

When Maggie saw them looking, she blushed and said, "We'll take these to your room." She didn't wait for them to respond.

It didn't matter. Neither elder was capable of speech at that moment. Eiichi recovered first. "Michelle," he called out, "I think I _will_ have some tea! _Strong_ tea!"

"Coming right up!" Michelle called back brightly.

* * *

Maggie and Junior served dinner in the dining room. Eiichi and Kirika sat in the center of one long side of the dining room table and were served first. The meal began when Maggie and Junior sat down and joined the others in prayer. Michelle started off the dinner conversation. "So what business brings you back to Japan, Mr. Sumiregawa?" 

"Research," Eiichi said. "A major American publisher is looking for a new computer services company to upgrade and expand its online publishing and sales services and my company intends to put in a contract bid. I'm here to talk to the publisher's representatives here and find out how well the current system works in Japan's market and see what improvements we can include in our proposed system."

"Which publisher, Dad?" Nenene said.

"I'm sure you've heard of them. It's the Stanton and Sharp Publishing Company."

Nenene's eyes went wide. "Heard of them?? Dad, Stanton and Sharp isn't just 'major.' It's the biggest publishing company in America, maybe the world!"

Eiichi smiled. "I had heard that, dear. Anyway, I'll be spending the next couple of days talking with sales and information technology people in their branch offices in Tokyo."

"Do you think you'll get the contract?" Michelle asked.

"We're pretty confident. Our company was one of the first S&S approached, and all our negotiations with them to this point have been very positive."

As they talked, Nenene stole a quick glance at Yomiko. The woman was eating quietly, fidgeting every now and then as if she couldn't stand to be without a book in her hands. It made Nenene smile a little before she turned back to her meal. "Well, I think it's great," she said. "It sounds like your company is in for an obscene amount of profit if they go into this venture."

"Oh, must we talk about business now?" Kirika said. "I'd much rather hear more about all of you."

"What would you like to know?" Michelle asked.

"Well…the one thing I've been dying to find out is…how exactly does one become a Paper Master?"

Everyone blinked at Kirika's question, then looked around the table for a moment before settling their eyes on Yomiko, who looked up from her food in surprise at the sudden attention. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Mrs. Sumiregawa was wondering how someone becomes a Paper Master," Michelle said.

"Oh," Yomiko said with a blush. She put down her chopsticks and straightened up a little. "Well…it's rather hard to explain," she said as she adjusted her glasses. "You need to develop a special relationship with books…"

"Not me!" Anita said. "I was born a Paper Master."

Michelle gasped. "Anita dear," she said, "you're being rude."

Anita shrugged. "Well, she wanted to know."

"Well, I suppose there are exceptions to every rule," Yomiko said, "but generally, you need to develop a sense of how books feel. The greater the empathy you feel for them, the greater the potential you have to manipulate the paper they're made of, and the more you do it, the greater potential you have to be able to manipulate all paper."

Eiichi gave her a confused look. "Wait, you have to know how books _feel_? Books have _feelings_?"

"Of course!" Michelle said. "They're happiest when they're being read, especially if they're being read by more than one person. They're sad if they're left to collect dust on the shelf. They feel pain if they're damaged, and anger if the person damaging them is being malicious. They enjoy being shared and will often find their own way to the people they believe they should be with."

"Oh…" Kirika said, not really understanding. "Have you ever felt that way about books, Nenene dear?"

Nenene looked at her in surprise. "Me? No. To me books are just…books. I'm not the kind of bibliophile that they are."

Eiichi laughed. "You couldn't tell that from looking in your bedroom while you were growing up! As I recall you always seemed to be surrounded by books, especially when you started writing."

"She hasn't changed that much over the years…" Anita muttered.

"Anita…" Maggie whispered.

Eiichi laughed again. "You know, Little One," he said to Anita, "you remind me a little of Nenene when she was your age."

Both Nenene and Anita blinked. "Really?" Anita asked.

"You're precocious, headstrong, you speak your mind…just like Nenene. A real _brat_."

"Dad!" Nenene said with a huge blush.

Anita turned to Nenene and grinned. "Oh, really? So I'm not the only brat around here, huh?"

"_I_ will be if you don't watch it!" Nenene growled at her through her teeth.

Anita wasn't phased. "Do you think that means I'll be a world famous but bitter author someday?"

"You wish! And I'm _not _bitter!"

Both parents laughed then, then Kirika said "I think you're right, dear. About everything! To be perfectly honest, Nenene dear, from what you've told me about the others - and from what I remember about your room - I expected to be buried in an avalanche of books and magazines as soon as we walked in the door."

"Well, we all came to an understanding," Nenene said. "Just avoid going near the attic or the two big bedrooms without an escort, or you may be hit by a random bookslide."

"Those can be very dangerous," Michelle said seriously.

"Consider me warned," Kirika said. "Now, Yomiko, is it true that you were a spy?"

Yomiko blushed. "Well, I was a special agent for the British Library…"

"Those nuts that sunk Hong Kong and tried to take over the world last year?" Eiichi said. "You really worked for them?"

Yomiko blushed harder. "Well…they weren't trying to take over the world when I first started working for them…as far as I know…"

"That's all right, dear," Kirika said, "we understand. I'm sure it was a difficult job for you. I'd be so worried for you if I were your mother. I don't know how she stands it."

"Actually, my parents passed on some time ago."

"Oh! I'm sorry."

"Thank you. In the hardest times, I like to think they're among the spirits that watch over me."

Kirika smiled and nodded. "I'm sure they are."

"What about _your_ parents?" Eiichi asked Michelle. "How do they feel about you girls traveling all over the world, having these dangerous adventures?"

"Dad!" Nenene hissed.

"What?" He looked at Nenene innocently for a moment, then he turned back to Michelle and noticed that she, Maggie and Anita were all looking downcast. It confused him for a moment, until Kirika leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He looked shocked, then ashamed. "Of course," he said, "Nenene did tell us about that. I forgot." When Kirika moved away he turned to Michelle and bowed. "Please, forgive an old man's mistake."

"Oh, it's all right!" Michelle said, trying to sound cheerful. "We know we're not really sure about our pasts, but we know we're at our best when we're together, and that's all that matters. As far as we're concerned, we always have been and always will be sisters." She was wearing a genuine smile by the time she was finished speaking.

"I understand," Eiichi said. "Still, I feel I must make amends, and I believe I know how." He slammed the palms of his hands on his knees and straightened up considerably. "I would be honored if all of you would consider _us_ your parents, and consider yourselves members of our family."

No one said anything for almost a minute. Everyone was too stunned. Then, suddenly, a white blur flew across the table, and the next thing Eiichi and Kirika knew they were flat on their backs, pinned to the floor by Michelle's arms while the eldest Paper Sister sobbed and peppered them both with kisses. Both elder Sumiregawas were scandalized at first, but a second later Kirika erupted in laughter as she hugged Michelle back. When he heard that, Eiichi managed to relax enough to smile.

Maggie's reaction was more reserved. She remained in her place while she sobbed quietly. "So…" she whispered. "So…"

Nenene smiled at the scene and shook her head, then she turned to Anita. "You wanna help me peel Michelle off Mom and Dad before she hugs them to death?"

Anita grinned at her. "Sure…_brat_."

Nenene gave her a quick head-rub. "Right back at you," she said, then the two of them got up and went to corral Michelle.

* * *

"That was a good thing you did," Kirika said as she and her husband climbed into bed later that evening. 

"It was the only thing I could do," Eiichi said. "Do you remember when we first talked about getting married? How you always talked about having lots of children?"

"I was an only child," Kirika said, "and I didn't want any of my children to feel as lonely as I did not having brothers and sisters. I always regretted not giving Nenene any siblings."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that any more. Don't you see? Nenene has taken care of that herself. She's got this house and gathered all these people together in it. And did you see the way they interacted with each other? They're all already family."

Kirika nodded and smiled. "I see. So all you did was make it official."

"It was the only thing I could do," Eiichi said again. They both chuckled as they settled into bed.

* * *

Later, across the road in a rented house, a man used his cell phone to make a report. "Looks like they're all settling in for the night. Nobody's gone out since the Sumiregawas got in. No, there's no indication that they're alerted to our presence. We're staying careful. Right. We'll check in again at the usual time tomorrow." He hung up after that, then waited for one of his colleagues to relieve him on watch. 


	2. Working Girls

DISCLAIMER: _R.O.D. and all related characters are the property of Shuei Sha (Ultra Jump and Superdash), Manga Entertainment and New Generation Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

_

* * *

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R.O.D. - THE FAN FICTION

By Darrin Colbourne

"Stop fidgeting!" Nenene commanded as she adjusted Yomiko's jacket. "Honestly! You're acting just like one of the kids!"

"But it's uncomfortable!" Yomiko whined. "I don't understand why I can't just wear my old clothes!"

"That's the very reason. They're _old_. Today's your first day on your new job, so you should have new clothes to go with it. Tell her, Mom."

"I think you look wonderful in this, Yomiko," Kirika said. She'd helped Nenene pick out some new suits for Yomiko to wear on her new teaching job. The one she was in now was a sky blue dress and jacket ensemble, with matching pumps and sheer black pantyhose. "And Nenene's right. You want to make a good impression on your students, don't you?"

"Well, of course I do," Yomiko said, "but I'm sure I could make just as good an impression in my old clothing."

Nenene huffed. "For the life of me, I don't see what you see in that beat up old British Library uniform."

"It's comfortable," Yomiko said petulantly, "I don't feel as confined in it as I do in these clothes."

Nenene gave Yomiko another quick look and noted all the leg and cleavage the suit was showing. "Believe me, Yomiko, you aren't all _that_ confined in these clothes…and speaking of confinement, aren't those old clothes of yours the same women's uniform used by the organization that kidnapped and/or tried to kill all of us at least twice?"

"That's not fair!" Yomiko said. "It's not my fault that bad people used to wear the same thing I did, and it's certainly not my clothes' fault! And, anyway, none of these new suits match my coat!"

Nenene smiled and shook her head. "Here's an idea: when you start getting paid, buy a _new_ coat!"

Yomiko pouted. "I _like_ my coat…" she muttered. The Sumiregawa women giggled.

Just then there was a knock on the bedroom door. It was Maggie. "Mr. Sumiregawa's ready!" She called in.

"So's Yomiko!" Nenene called back. Maggie had volunteered to drive Yomiko to work and Eiichi Sumiregawa to his appointments for the day. Nenene turned to Yomiko and pinched her cheeks. "This is it," she said with a smile. "Make me proud."

"I will," Yomiko said, relaxing in Nenene's grip.

* * *

Maggie and Eiichi were waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Yomiko and the others came down. "It's about time," Eiichi said as he turned to look. He smiled when he saw Yomiko. "You look wonderful! That almost makes it worth the the wait." 

"See?" Nenene said as she poked Yomiko with her elbow. "I told you so." Yomiko just smiled and blushed as they continued down the stairs. Soon after that Yomiko, Maggie and Eiichi were out the door.

Nenene started back up the stairs. "Just give me a few minutes to change, Mom, and then we'll head out ourselves."

"What about Michelle and Nancy?" Kirika asked. "Wouldn't they like to come shopping with us?"

"I'm sure they would, but they're already gone. Michelle said something about meeting a client, and I guess Nancy tagged along."

* * *

A cab deposited Michelle and Nancy in front of a nice house in a nearby ward a short time later. "This is the address," Michelle said as she checked her appointment book. "The woman I talked to sounded pretty desperate. I hope we can help her." 

"I hope she can pay you," Nancy said. "Anita's been telling me about some of your old cases and how they usually involve people who are so lovestruck they forget to write you a check."

"Oh, Anita exaggerates," Michelle said with a dismissive wave. "And besides, true love among people and books is more important than material wealth anyway."

"I'd love to see you convince Nenene of that next month when the bills for the house come due," Nancy said with a sly grin. Michelle blushed a little as she smiled back, then the pair went up the walk to the front door. Nancy rang the doorbell, then both women smiled prettily as a Chinese woman with shoulder-length blond hair and heavy-rimmed glasses answered the door.

"Good Morning," Michelle said. "We're from the Paper Sisters Detective Company." She handed the woman a business card. "If you have any problems involving books we'll work day and night to solve them for you. I'm Michelle Chan, and this is my associate, Nancy Makuhari."

"Good morning," Nancy said with a slight bow.

The woman smiled with what looked like relief and offered Michelle and Nancy a deep bow. "Good morning," she said, "and thank you for coming so promptly. My name is Becky Miao. I believe I spoke to you on the phone, Miss Chan."

"That's right," Michelle said, "But please, call me Michelle. Everybody does."

Becky nodded. "Please come in. We can have some tea if you'd like, and then we can talk about why I've asked you here."

As the women went inside, Nancy suddenly got the strangest feeling. She felt uncomfortable near Becky Miao, but couldn't figure out why. She kept smiling and continued to act as if nothing was wrong, but decided she would keep a close eye on their host.

Soon tea was served in the sitting room and Becky told her story. "I work for a wealthy European collector of rare books. He contracts with several buyers around the world to help him find the books he wants. It's my job to find books for him in the East Asia region. Recently he inquired about finding a volume of the Archimedes Texts."

"Archimedes Texts?" Nancy said. "I don't think I've ever heard of those."

"I have," Michelle said, "but I always thought they were a legend. The story goes that in the last days of his life, the Greek scientist Archimedes came close to unlocking the secret of the universe, describing existence itself as a mathematical equation so complex that it took several scrolls to write out completely. He was supposed to have entrusted the scrolls to one of his students shortly before his death, and that student passed them down through his own family for generations until they were translated and bound into books soon after bookbinding became a widespread process. There are supposed to be ten volumes, aren't there?"

Becky nodded. "The books are very real, Michelle. They remained together as a set until the time of the French Revolution. Their guardian at the time was living in Paris, so to keep them from falling into the hands of the revolutionaries, he scattered them around the world."

"But why?" Nancy said. "What could the revolutionaries have done with one math problem that filled ten books?"

Michelle answered her. "It's said that whoever can complete Archimedes' work, whoever can work out the final steps of the equation, can use it to reshape the universe."

"My employer is a descendant of the student Archimedes originally entrusted the scrolls to," Becky said. "He's been trying to get the collection 'back in the family', so to speak. Five of the volumes have been recovered. Of the remaining volumes, number seven is supposed to be somewhere in East Asia. I've exhausted every resource at my disposal, but I haven't been able to locate it."

"I would think you'd be able to find anything on the Internet," Nancy offered.

Becky shook her head. "The problem is there isn't a single word of text in or around the actual books. The whole thing is written in a mathematical code that only Archimedes, his closest associates and their descendants could interpret. Even 'Archimedes Texts' isn't their original name. It's just what everybody has called them since they've been bound."

"I think I see your problem," Michelle said thoughtfully.

"If you help me recover the seventh volume," Becky said, "I can offer you a percentage of my finder's fee. I guarantee it will be most generous."

"Um, _how_ generous?" Nancy said with a friendly smile.

Michelle grabbed her wrist. "I'm sure it will be more than enough," she said. "We can get to work on this right away. Do you mind if I use your phone to call us a cab?"

Later, as they walked to their cab, Nancy whispered to Michelle, "Something about her bothers me, but I can't figure out what."

"She seems nice," Michelle whispered back, "but I suppose you can never be too careful. Still, we're used to dealing with shady characters. If she turns out to be untrustworthy we can handle it, but until we know for sure we'll treat this case as if she's dealing with us honestly."

"If you say so," Nancy sighed. They both turned to the front door before getting into the cab. Becky was standing in the doorway. All the women smiled and waved good-bye, then Nancy and Michelle got into the cab. "So where do we go now?" Nancy asked as the cab pulled off.

"Jinbocho," Michelle said. "If you're looking for a book, it's always good to start by asking people who sell books."

"Right. And, of course, we'll probably have to buy lots of books to make sure the booksellers are willing to talk."

Michelle grinned. "Isn't it wonderful how life works out sometimes?"

* * *

"And since Mr. Nakajima is going to be on extended leave, we've hired a substitute for the rest of the year. Please welcome your new teacher, Miss Yomiko Readman. Miss Readman, would you like to say a few words?" 

Yomiko did her best to stay calm as the high school assistant principal introduced her to her class. It was very hard for her. She felt ridiculously uncomfortable in her suit, especially considering the way some of the male students were staring at her. _Boys don't stare at me like that when I'm in my proper clothes_, she complained in her head. She wondered idly why Nenene was so intent on showing her off like this, but tried to put it out of her mind as she addressed her students. "Good morning, class," she said with a polite smile.

"Good morning, Readman-sensei!" The students replied in unison.

"I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've been given to share my knowledge with you. I'm new to your school, so there are some things I need to learn myself, so I hope that as long as I'm here, we can learn from each other."

One of the class leaders, a girl named Suburu Anaya, stood and smiled as she addressed Yomiko. "Sensei, I just wanted to officially welcome you to our class and our school and say we will do everything we can to make your tenure here fulfilling and enjoyable."

At that the assistant principle beamed with pride. "Well," he said, "now that that's settled, I'll leave you to your class, Miss Readman." He patted Yomiko on the shoulder as he left.

There was a split-second of panic as Yomiko realized she was now on her own, but she fought it down when she remembered that she was going to start her lesson plan with a literature subject. "Let's see…before he left, Mr. Nakajima was going to discuss _Pride and Prejudice_ with you, wasn't he?" She immediately swooned. "Oh, that's a _wonderful_ book! Do you all have it with you?" Everyone confirmed with nods. "Good! There's a particular passage that's one of my absolute favorites, so we'll start with that." Yomiko had them turn to the right page, and what followed was a period of time where she and several students read different passages, she swooned some more and they discussed what they read, and it was almost lunchtime before Suburu managed to respectfully remind Yomiko that she was supposed to be teaching them other subjects as well. Sheepishly, Yomiko promised to move on once classes had resumed.

At lunchtime, Yomiko overheard one of the male students commenting about her as she left her classroom and headed for the Teachers' Lounge. Once in the Lounge she found a few teachers there, but was disappointed to find that they were all men. She walked up to one of them and introduced herself. "Hello. My name is Yomiko Readman…"

"Right!" The man said. "You're taking over for Nakajima. Welcome to our school. My name is Hanaoka, Rokoru Hanaoka."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Yomiko said. "I was hoping to meet another teacher…her name is Miss Gold?"

Hanaoka's eyebrows went up. "You mean _June_ Gold?"

"I suppose that's who I mean, yes. Will she be coming to the lounge today?"

Hanaoka laughed. "Oh, you'll never see her in here! That's a strange one! She spends lunch period in her homeroom, nose stuck in some kind of book or magazine!"

Yomiko's heart skipped a beat. "She does?"

"The way I hear it, her students need a bullhorn to distract her from whatever she's reading and get her back to teaching again! It's crazy! She's some kind of book freak!"

Yomiko's heart skipped another beat as she smiled. "Really? A freak?"

"I think it has to do with her upbringing! She's American, you know? You know how they overdo everything over there…"

"Oh, yes, of course…um…do you know where her homeroom is?"

"Eager to see the freak in her native habitat, huh?"

"Um…actually, I think we might get along well. You see, as I was coming here I heard one of my students say I reminded him of Miss Gold."

Hanaoka's face drooped as he considered that. "Don't tell me _you're_ a book freak, too!"

Yomiko blushed as she tried to hide her rolling suitcase full of books with her body. "'Freak' is a rather strong word…"

"There goes your theory about upbringing, Hanaoka!" One of the other teachers called out. It made the other teachers laugh, Hanaoka grunt and Yomiko blush harder.

Hanaoka turned back to Yomiko and said, "Well, if you really want to get to know her, don't waste your time right now. You'll end up spending all period just trying to get her attention. You'll probably have better luck after school hours. She usually heads straight to the library. You may be able to get her attention while she's looking for books to read."

Yomiko smiled at that and nodded. "Thank you! I'll do that! Thank you very much!" Hanaoka smiled back, and Yomiko found a place to sit down and read while she ate the lunch Nenene packed for her with the note "EAT THIS, UP UP UP!"

Ten minutes after lunch was over, her students were borrowing the bullhorn from Miss Gold's students.

* * *

Michelle and Nancy spent the morning and most of the afternoon in Jinbocho pumping the various booksellers for information as they "liberated" most of the stock. For Michelle it was simply the price of doing business. Back in Hong Kong, she had always found the booksellers to be the best source of information when it came to tracking down books. She thought it would be obvious, but was often surprised at how many people failed to realize that, and instead relied on the internet and _librarians_, of all people. 

Unfortunately, they were having little luck tracking down the book they were looking for. Of all the booksellers they questioned only a handful had ever even heard of the Archimedes Texts, and of those none had any idea where any of the volumes were.

Their last stop was Totou Books, the underground bookstore that seemed set aside for true bibliophiles. Michelle held out hope that this visit would bear fruit. The bookseller here was old and wise. If anyone knew where the missing volume was, surely he would. She and Nancy made their way to the counter gradually, picking up books that caught their eye along the way, until each woman was carrying a stack of books that blocked her view. When they reached the counter, they found the bookseller in the same position he was always in, sitting, facing away from the counter and watching his little television as he stroked his cat.

Michelle took a moment after she set her books down to glance at the picture on the nearby wall that showed her with her sisters captioned "The Biggest VIPs II," then she smiled and turned to the bookseller. "Good Afternoon," she said cheerfully.

The bookseller never turned around, but he sounded just as cheerful when he responded, "It's you! Welcome back. Did you find everything you need?"

"Well…not everything," Michelle said demurely. "We were hoping you could help us find one more item. Have you ever heard of the Archimedes Texts?"

"Why, yes I have," the bookseller said, "but it's been years since anyone has asked me about them."

Michelle and Nancy glanced at each other and smiled, then Michelle asked him, "Do you know where we can find volume seven? We would greatly appreciate any help you could give us."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the bookseller said, "but I couldn't tell you where any of the volumes are."

Both women's faces fell at the news. "Oh," Michelle said. "That's too bad." She sighed. "Well then, I guess we'll just pay for these books." She came to a sudden realization as she looked into her purse, then she blushed and smiled at the bookseller. "Um…I seem to have run out of money. Would it be all right for me to pay for these later?"

"Oh, that's all right," Nancy said, "I'll pay for…" Her voice caught as she suddenly remembered the state of her own finances after a morning in a city-sized market district devoted to selling books. "Um…actually…"

The bookseller chuckled. "Just like Yomiko. Oh, well. I've extended the courtesy to her a number of times, so I suppose I can extend it to her friends. We'll work something out the next time you're here."

Michelle and Nancy grinned. "Thank you," Michelle said. "Thank you very much!"

"And I'm sorry I couldn't help you find the book you wanted."

"Oh, that's all right. I'm sure we'll come up with some kind of lead."

"I'm sure you will. Say…have you girls ever read the _The Purloined Letter_?"

"I have!" Michelle beamed.

"Um…I haven't…" Nancy said.

"It's a classic," the bookseller said. "I'm sure we have a collection of Poe's stories here somewhere if you'd like to add it to your purchases…"

Michelle thought about it a moment, then said, "That's all right. I'm sure we already have that story at home, and Nenene will probably kill us for everything we've already bought today, so we probably shouldn't bring home any more duplicates…at least for now."

The bookseller nodded sagely. "Be sure to say 'Hello' to her and the others for me."

Michelle and Nancy left the bookstore with their latest purchases a few minutes later. "Well, that was a waste," Nancy said, "of time _and_ money. All that, and we didn't get a single lead in finding the book."

Michelle glanced at her and smiled a little smile. "That may not be true. I think the old man told us a lot."

"But he said he didn't know where it was."

"No, he said he _couldn't tell us_ where it was. That could mean he knows where it is, but can't give away the information freely."

"That's an awfully big stretch."

"It's what else he said that makes me think it's true."

"What do you mean?"

"_The Purloined Letter_ is a mystery written by Edgar Allen Poe. In it, the investigator's case hinges on finding one piece of evidence: a letter. Ultimately, he finds it among the victim's mail, hidden in the envelope of another letter that had already been opened and sitting in a mail rack. It had been there all the time the police were searching for it, but it had been overlooked because it seemed like just another piece of mail."

"So it was hidden in plain sight. I get it, but how does that help us find the book?"

"If I'm right about the old man knowing where the book is, then what he was trying to tell us was that it's hidden someplace where it might be easily overlooked, so we won't find it sealed up in some vault or secret lab somewhere. It's hidden in plain sight, probably among lots of other old books that most people nowadays wouldn't give a passing glance."

"Wait, you mean like in a used bookstore? Michelle, we've just been through every bookstore in the district! If we didn't spot it then…"

"There are other places to hide a book in plain sight, like a library."

"Don't tell me we have to search every library in the district!"

"We'd probably have to search every library in the _country_, so I don't even want to think of starting something like that until Maggie and Yomiko have time to help us. Without a title or an author to go by, most conventional methods of searching library holdings will be useless to us. We'll have to search the libraries the way we search bookstores. We keep looking until something catches our eye."

Nancy sighed. "I guess you're right. We should talk to them about it when we're all home." Saying that reminded her of something. "Um…we don't have money for a cab. How do we get home?"

Michelle thought about it. "Do you have enough change for a phone call? If Maggie's done driving Mr. Sumiregawa around, maybe she can pick us up."

Nancy nodded, then sighed again as she and Michelle went off in search of a pay phone.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Suburu showed Yomiko to the school library. As a member of the Literary Club, part of Suburu's after school activities involved helping her fellow club members run the library, so before she started work she took Yomiko on a quick tour. Yomiko was dazzled. The library was small compared to others she had seen, but for her there was always the bibliophile's optimistic hope that she'd find something here that she'd never read before, or something she'd always wanted to read again but had lost track of. 

At one point Suburu stopped short. "What are they doing?" she asked as she looked down one of the aisles in the Fiction section. Yomiko looked that way too. Sitting at the top of a rolling ladder was a beautiful woman with long, straight blonde hair reading a paperback book. She was wearing a white blouse, a tan skirt and tan pumps. The way she was sitting had caused her skirt to ride up, and the resulting sight had attracted a group of giggling, drooling boys. At first glance it seemed like the woman didn't care, but Yomiko realized that she was so engrossed in the book she wasn't aware of the sensation she was causing.

It was time to take action. Yomiko adjusted her glasses and strode purposefully toward the group with Suburu at her heels. When her presence didn't distract the boys from their sightseeing, Yomiko cleared her throat loudly. That startled them into paying attention to her. One of them was the boy who had commented on her earlier. "Oh, Miss Readman!" He said with a nervous smile. "What are you doing here?"

Yomiko smiled back. "I think I'd rather know what all of you are doing here."

The boy looked down as he tried to think of a good response. "Oh, well…um…we were waiting to ask Miss Gold a question about…about…America!"

"Good one, Okajima!" Another boy whispered.

"Shut up!" Another boy hissed at him.

Yomiko shook her head, then said, "Well, I have an idea. Why don't you tell me what you want to ask her, and I'll ask her for you when she's free, so that you don't have to disturb her anymore?"

Okajima's face twitched as he realized Yomiko was calling his bluff. "Um…that's okay, sensei. It's not that important. We'll just ask her tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, in that case, why don't you just leave now while I'm feeling generous enough not to give all of you detention?"

Okajima gulped and nodded. "Yes, sensei! We're leaving right now! See you tomorrow!" With that, he rushed out of the library, his cohorts hard on his heels. Suburu touched her right eye and stuck her tongue out at them as they ran.

Yomiko ignored them all as she focused on the woman on the ladder. She shook her head again at the sight, then she got close to the ladder and pushed her colleague's knees together, then rested her chin on them. The sensation broke the spell of the book. Miss Gold looked up, then glanced around, then lowered the book so she could look at her legs, where she found a smiling Yomiko Readman looking up at her. "Um…Hello…" she said.

"Hello!" Yomiko said cheerily. "It's nice to meet you."

It took a few moments more for Miss Gold to get her bearings, but as she realized what was happening she blushed and used her free hand to pull the front of her skirt down. "Oh, my! Did I forget myself again?"

"Again?" Yomiko said. "Do you do this often?" She'd said it innocently enough, but it just made Miss Gold look away and blush harder.

Girlish giggling brought their attention to Suburu. "Miss June Gold," she said, "this is Miss Yomiko Readman. Miss Readman just started teaching today."

"Oh?" June said. She turned to Yomiko and smiled an embarrassed smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for making such a first impression…"

"Oh, that's all right," Yomiko said. "It could happen to anybody. Why don't you come down from there?"

Yomiko and Suburu helped June down to the floor, and when her feet were on solid ground again June smoothed out her skirt and stood properly before Yomiko. The two women didn't do anything but smile at each other for a few moments, and Suburu decided that was a good time to leave. "I have to go to work now. Will you two be all right?"

"We'll be fine," Yomiko said. "Thank you, Miss Anaya." Suburu bowed and left.

June still felt embarrassed. "I'm really not like that all the time. It's just…I had to use the ladder to get the book, and when I got it I wanted to read a couple of lines before I came down again, and soon I was just reading away and I had to sit down…" She blushed again.

"It's okay, really," Yomiko reassured her. "I can get like that sometimes, too. If you'd like, while we're both here we can look after each other, okay?"

June smiled prettily and nodded. "Okay!"

Yomiko smiled back. "Is it true you're from America?"

"Yes. I was born there."

"Your Japanese is very good."

"Thank you. I learned it from my step-mother, who is half-Japanese. She taught me the language and about Japanese culture, and I found it so fascinating I decided I wanted to live here."

Yomiko nodded, then asked the favorite question of bibliophiles everywhere: "So…what are you reading?"

June beamed as she showed Yomiko the book. It turned out to be one of Yomiko's favorite romances, so soon they were caught up in a flurry of discussion about the book and the author, then they compared lists of their other favorite books, and before they knew it they were practically floating around the library as they looked for more books they could read and share with each other. By the time their excursion had ended each of them was lugging a huge stack of books to the check-out counter. Suburu, who was manning the counter at the time, stared at them wide-eyed as June said, "We'd like to borrow these, please."

"Yes," Suburu said as she composed herself. She started with June's stack, taking each book and noting their titles and catalog numbers on a lending card. She stopped when she got to a particularly antique-looking book. She checked the catalog number on that one more closely. "Oh, I'm sorry, sensei. I can't let you take this book out of the library."

June looked as if she'd been struck. "What? But I must have this book!"

Yomiko looked at the book. It was the intriguing one they had found in a section in the back of the building. It was large, looked to be a thousand or more pages thick and hardbound in a black leather cover. There was no title or author visible. The only markings on the book were a set of symbols on the spine that neither teacher recognized. In fact, the only thing recognizable on the cover was the decal on the spine marked with the catalog number. Yomiko had been dying to see what was inside herself, but she decided to let her new friend read it first and tell her about it later. Now it looked like she wouldn't get the chance.

"Well, you see," Suburu said, "this book is part of our Special Reserve collection. No one is allowed to leave the building with them, not even faculty."

"Oh, but I'm the advisor for the Literary Club! Surely you can make an exception in my case!"

Suburu shook her head. "I'm sorry, but only the Dean of Students has the authority to make an exception in the case of the Special Reserve books. You have to ask him for permission."

June looked truly dejected then. "The Dean of Students is attending an educational conference in Okinawa. He won't be back until next week."

"I can leave a message for him saying you wanted to borrow the book. I'm sure he'll give his permission as soon as he comes back. And you can always read it here."

June thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "That's okay. I have to go. I'll just take the rest of them. Can you leave a message for the Dean about that book?"

Suburu nodded and smiled. "Yes, Ma'am, and I'll put it back myself." She put the book aside and finished with June's loans. When she was done, she handed the lending card to June to sign. June signed it, grabbed her books and turned one last time to Yomiko.

"Thanks again for helping me before," she said. "I'll see you around school, okay?"

"Oh, of course!" Yomiko said eagerly. "And you're very welcome."

June left with another nod. She looked awkward as she walked in her pumps, but she managed to carry the whole load out the door without dropping a single book.

Suburu regarded the Special Reserve book for a moment before she started on Yomiko's loans. "I don't see why she wants it so badly…" she muttered.

"Well, it looks really interesting…" Yomiko said.

"But it's not," Suburu said. "I've seen it. It's just some kind of weird math text book. There's nothing in it but math problems, and the symbology in them is so strange nobody can understand it. It had the Math Club stumped for months before they finally gave up." She giggled a little at that, then got serious again. "It's funny. From what I understand this book has been here for ages, yet this is the first time anybody ever wanted to take it out…at least since I've been going to school here."

She shrugged and started on Yomiko's loans. While she waited, Yomiko was lost in thought. What _was_ so important about a math book?

* * *

Yomiko decided she had enough time to read a little bit before she started for home. She sat down at one of the tables in the back and settled into a historical romance, and nothing drew her attention away from it until she felt a strange buzzing against her chest. She started and looked up when it stopped, but before she could wonder what it was she had another mystery to solve. _Why is it so dark?_ The only light that was on was the little reading light on the table above her. She felt more buzzing as she found the note on top of the stack of books resting beside her: 

Readman Sensei,

Please turn out the light when you're ready to leave. The front door will

lock itself behind you.

Thank you,

Suburu Anaya

"Oh," Yomiko said, quietly. Apparently she'd been there so long they had to close the library around her. She blushed a little as she realized that Suburu had probably tried very hard to get her attention before leaving that note. As she let that sink in she felt the buzzing against her chest again. It felt like it was coming from her suit jacket. She reached into the inside pocket and was surprised when she pulled out a cell phone. _How did that get in there?_ She was confused until she turned it over and found the little note taped to the back:

CALL ME UP UP UP!

She smiled as she realized Nenene must have slipped it in there when she was getting dressed. It must have been set to "vibrate." On the fourth ring she flipped it open and answered it. "Hello?"

"Yomiko, where the hell are you?!" There was no mistaking the shrill tones of Nenene's "angry voice."

Yomiko looked around. "Um…I believe I'm in the school library…"

"Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?" Nenene growled.

That was actually a good question. Yomiko checked her watch and gasped. "Oh, dear…" was all she could say to Nenene.

Nenene muttered something that Yomiko couldn't quite make out (but it sounded unpleasant, just the same) then said to Yomiko, "Stay right where you are! I'm sending Maggie to pick you up!"

Nenene hung up then, leaving Yomiko feeling like a fool as she put away her phone. She sat forlornly for a few seconds, then sighed and decided there was nothing she could do but wait for Maggie to show up. She thought she might as well read while she waited, so she picked up her book and tried to settle back into it. That's when she heard the sound of breaking glass and the shuffle of someone sneaking in. She turned off the table light and crept in the dark toward where she heard the shuffling. Soon she found herself in one of the aisles near the Special Reserve section, watching someone she couldn't make out in the darkness searching through the books.

Yomiko reached out and commanded a page to come out of one of the nearby books and fold itself into a small crane. She sent it flying toward the front of the library. The intruder wasn't using a flashlight or anything, so when the crane turned on the light switches up front the person should be dazzled long enough for Yomiko to act. She counted the seconds until she thought the crane had reached the switches, then closed her eyes and waited. The lights came on amoment later, and Yomiko opened her eyes to get a good look at the intruder. "Stay right where you are!" she called out.

The intruder sighed and turned to face Yomiko with a forlorn smile, and Yomiko gasped as she saw who it was.

"Miss Gold!"

She had changed clothes since the last time Yomiko saw her, giving up the blouse, skirt and pumps for a tan safari shirt, tan Daisy Dukes and hiking boots. She was wearing a medium-sized tan backpack on her shoulders, and her long, blonde hair was done up in a ponytail that she had slung over her right shoulder. "I knew I'd get caught," she sighed, "but I was hoping no one would notice the theft until I was long gone tomorrow." She turned back to the books. "At least this makes it easier. Here it is." She pulled out a book and held it to her chest as she turned back to Yomiko. It was the big black math book.

Yomiko shook her head. "I don't understand, June! You don't have to do this! You can read it here during normal hours."

"You're right, Yomiko. You _don't_ understand. I don't need to read the book. I need to _take_ it, and I need it tonight. I tried to take it without any undue fuss, but Miss Anaya wouldn't let me borrow it, so I have to do it this way."

Yomiko took a step forward. "I can't let you do that. Just put the book back and we'll forget about this. Believe me, if you try to take it, I can stop you."

Miss Gold smirked. "I know very well what you're capable of…_Agent Paper_." Yomiko's eyes widened as Miss Gold started walking toward her. "Yes, I know the work you used to do. I've been fully briefed on you and your allies. I was hoping I wouldn't have to face any of you so soon, but I've never been very lucky." She extended her right hand toward Yomiko, and as she did several sheets of gold origami paper flew out of her backpack and folded and bonded in the air, falling into her hand in the shape of an automatic pistol. As Yomiko goggled at this, June aimed it her and got serious. "Please, Yomiko, just walk away."

Yomiko just stared for a second or two, then shook her head as she reached out to the books around her. "I can't."

A wall of paper formed in front of Yomiko just as Miss Gold fired. Yomiko heard eight loud pops as what sounded like bullets impacted on the wall. Then there was quiet, then Yomiko had to duck as three large, gold-paper _shuriken_ sliced through the paper and flew at her head! She ran then, hoping to get back to her suitcase and the paper inside that she'd set aside for combat. As she ran, gold-paper arrows arced over the tops of the bookcases as Miss Gold tried to take her out with a lucky shot. Two arrows with bulbous heads reached her as she got to the table she was sitting at and exploded in the air by her head, showering her with sheets of gold paper. It took all of Yomiko's will power to keep the paper from enveloping her. When the paper storm died down she grabbed the handle to her case and dragged it behind her as she made her way back to the Special Reserve section. Miss Gold was no longer there.

Yomiko ran as fast as she could to the back entrance. The glass in the door had been shattered, possibly so that someone could reach in and open the door from the inside. She rushed out that way and looked around. She spotted Miss Gold a few meters away, forming a large construct with gold paper, possibly an escape vehicle. Yomiko opened her case and commanded two strands of ribbon paper to arc out. The ends dashed toward Miss Gold. One caught her by the leg, the other grabbed the book. Yomiko had them separate the two as they pulled thief and stolen property back toward herself.

Miss Gold wasn't done fighting. She twisted in the air and sent the paper she had been using to build the construct screaming toward Yomiko. Yomiko had to dodge and duck as dozens of sharp-edged sheets of gold paper rained down on her. By the time she could look up again Miss Gold had freed herself and was on the attack, brandishing a gold-paper _katana_. Yomiko barely had enough time to form a sword of her own and fend off Miss Gold's first strike. Soon the two women were fencing like the samurai of ancient times, each trying to overpower her opponent, yet reluctant to go for a killing strike. Finally, Yomiko's greater experience started to turn the tide. She started to force Miss Gold back, away from the book and the library. At one point their swords clashed and Miss Gold held Yomiko at bay, but as the two struggled Yomiko commanded more ribbon strands out of the case. These strands wrapped around Miss Gold's ankles and pulled, making her fall. When she was on the ground, Yomiko pointed the end of her sword at Miss Gold's throat. "Surrender," The Paper told the thief.

Miss Gold stared at her, then smiled that embarrassed smile. "I can't," she said.

Suddenly paper flew from her backpack _and_ Yomiko's case and caught Yomiko up in a whirlwind of paper sheets, cards and ribbon. It took all of Yomiko's control to protect herself and make the storm die down, but when everything was clear again Miss Gold was gone, along with the book.

When Maggie arrived a few minutes later, she found Yomiko sitting outside where she had lost her opponent. Her suit was shredded in several different places and it looked like she had been crying. Maggie looked around for any sign of trouble, then went over to Yomiko. "Are you all right?" she said. "What happened?"

Yomiko looked up into the sky. "I thought I had made a friend today," she whispered, "But she was just another enemy."

* * *

Later, sipping tea in the comfort of her own home, Yomiko related her story to her friends. "An American Paper Master?" Anita said. "Really? Is that even possible?" 

"It's very possible," Yomiko said, " though I'd never met one before tonight. And she's powerful. She made a working gun. I've never made anything that complex out of paper. I didn't think any Paper Master could do something like that."

"What book did she steal?" Michelle asked. "We can try to get it back if we can find her again."

"That's the strangest thing. I don't know exactly what book it was because there was no title or author marked anywhere, and from what one of my students told me there's no writing inside the book, just math equations." She was about to take another sip of tea, but she noticed that Michelle and Nancy were staring at her wide-eyed. "What is it?"

Michelle and Nancy turned to each other. "Hidden in plain sight," Michelle said.

"Not very well," Nancy said. "In a high school library?"

"Why not? It's unfortunate, but not every adolescent is a lover of books, so a library whose main clientele is adolescents is a place where a book like that might be easily overlooked."

"What are you two talking about?" Yomiko said.

Michelle smiled at her and said, "Let me tell you about the case we just took on today…"

* * *

Meanwhile, perched on the branch of a nearby tree, a raven-haired woman stroked her pet. "See, Orion," she said. "Now I'm sure they're bringing Yomiko Readman in on the case. I knew it was a good idea to hire and follow them, and we'll keep following them until they lead us to volume seven of the Archimedes Texts." 

Then Lily, The Reader Extraordinaire laughed at the thought of The Paper and The Paper Sisters helping her get her hands on one of the greatest treasures in human history.


	3. A Fist Full of Potions

DISCLAIMER: _R.O.D. and all related characters are the property of Shuei Sha (Ultra Jump and Superdash), Manga Entertainment and New Generation Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

_

* * *

_

R.O.D. - THE FAN FICTION

By Darrin Colbourne

It was evening in the Sumiregawa household. Everyone was gathered in the living room. Anita and Junior were laying on the floor between the TV and the coffee table doing their homework. Michelle, Maggie, Nancy and Yomiko were sitting on the floor around the table, reading (of course). The Sumiregawas were seated on the couch. Nenene was jotting down notes in a journal while her parents, Kirika and Eiichi, were watching the local evening news. "Still no word tonight on the whereabouts of the popular teacher-turned-thief, who disappeared two nights ago after vandalizing the school where she taught and stealing a book from their library," the newsreader said. "Police have stated that the teacher, Miss June Gold, might have slipped out of the country and returned to the United States. The FBI and other authorities there have been contacted and officials here are confident that she will be extradited to Japan once she is found…"

Yomiko sighed. "I wish I could be that confident…" she muttered.

"It's not your fault she got away, Yomiko," Nenene said. "It's not like you went into your first day of work expecting to face yet another new Paper Master."

"Yeah," Anita said, "but you'd think we'd _learn_ to expect stuff like that, given our track record."

Michelle looked up from her book just long enough to scold her sister. "Anita!"

"It's not that I blame myself for her getting away," Yomiko said. "I just know first hand how dangerous she can be. There's something else. I'm not sure she wants to be a thief. When we fought, I got the feeling that she was being forced to act the way she was acting."

"Maybe she was," Nenene said, "but the only way for anyone to know for sure is for her to turn herself in and tell her side of the story."

"Do you think she'd be willing to do that, Yomiko?" Nancy asked.

"I doubt it," Yomiko said. "She was so adamant about getting the book and not getting caught. I don't think she'd go to the police willingly."

"Well, I still say we should go after her ourselves," Anita said. "I bet she can't take Yomiko on when she's ready for her, and I know she can't take all of us in a fight!"

Nenene groaned. "We've been through this, brat. I mean, can't we leave the super-powered crazies to the authorities for once?"

"There's nothing wrong with making a citizen's arrest is there?" Anita said.

"If you have to cross an ocean to do it, it's not a 'citizen's arrest'. It's kidnapping."

"It could be bounty hunting if there's a reward," Michelle offered.

"Well, there isn't," Nenene said, "so let's just forget about Miss Gold until fate leaves us no choice but to deal with her."

"Which will probably be sooner than later," Anita said. "I'm just saying we might as well get it over with…!"

"Hold on," Junior said. Something the newsreader had said caught his attention. The focus was now on international news. "Did he say that the president was getting his own library?"

"American Presidents get their own libraries?" Anita wondered.

"In a way," Kirika said. "A president makes a lot of speeches, proposals to Congress and treaties with foreign governments. All of it is documented and bound, so when a president leaves office all of it is collected in a presidential library to make it easier for historians to do research on the administration."

"President Cole's library is likely to be a more interesting source of information than the others," Eiichi said, "given his dealings with the British Library."

Yomiko blushed a little at the mention of the British Library, but before she could say anything, Maggie muttered, "I wish I had my own library…"

"I bet it would be wonderful," Michelle chimed in, "especially if you had one and everything in it was about you."

Eiichi smirked. "They're easy to get. Just run for President, spend four or eight years making your constituents' lives miserable, then when you're out of office they give you one at the taxpayers' expense." He was proud of this little bit cynicism, and he looked around in anticipation of a chuckle or at least a couple of groans.

He didn't expect to see Michelle, Maggie and Yomiko seriously considering it.

Nenene brought them back to reality. "Forget it, girls. You have to be born in the United States to run for president." Yomiko and Maggie glanced at her, then sighed and went back to their books.

Michelle wasn't so easily discouraged. "I could forge a birth certificate that says I was born in Iowa…"

"No, Michelle!" Nenene said sharply.

Michelle huffed and went back to her book, then after a few seconds, "Speaking of libraries…Anita dear, Junior dear, there's something I need you to do for me tomorrow…"

* * *

Anita and Junior started their schoolday the same way they always did, by greeting their classmate and friend Hisami Hishaishi at the gate. "Good morning, Anita. Good morning, Junior." Hisami said with a cheery smile.

"Morning, Hisa," Anita said, smiling right back. Junior smiled and nodded. Even after becoming a regular student he had yet to overcome his ingrained shyness, but Hisami was always nice to him, and his association with her and Anita helped a lot when it came to making new friends.

"How's your new book coming along?" Anita asked.

Hisami blushed a little as she answered. "I'm about halfway through, but I'm kind of stuck on one scene. I don't know quite how to get it right."

"Don't worry," Anita said. "You're such a good writer I bet you'll figure it out, and you can always come over to our house if you need help."

Hisami brightened immediately. "Could I?" She hadn't been to visit Anita at home since she and her extended family moved.

"Sure. I bet Nenene would be glad to help, and my sisters and Yomiko and Junior's mom have read about a zillion books between them, so they can help too."

"Thank you, Anita. I'd like that very much." She'd been wanting to see Miss Sumiregawa again, and had been interested in meeting Yomiko and Nancy ever since she'd first heard about them. And of course she wanted to see Michelle and Maggie again. Maggie was very nice, and Michelle was silly.

"That's settled then," Anita said. "And while we're talking about helping each other out, I was hoping you could help Junior and me with something."

"Of course," Hisami said. "I'd be glad to help."

"That's good. You see…" Just then the morning bell sounded, so the three of them rushed to get into class.

* * *

It wasn't until lunchtime that Anita had a chance to tell Hisami what she wanted. The two of them were having lunch with their mutual friends Chiho Iwata and Tohko Shigeno in a cluster of desks near the classroom window. Anita laid out the problem when she was halfway through her second bottle of milk. "So there's this bunch of books called 'The Archimedes Texts.' Have you ever heard of them, Hisa?"

"No," Hisami said. "Are they about Archimedes or were they written by him?"

"I think he wrote them. Anyway, there's supposed to be ten of them, and our detective agency was hired to find one of the books."

"It must be so cool to have your own detective agency," Chiho interjected. She'd been buzzing about it ever since Anita first told them about it. "I'd love to go on stake-outs and solve big murder cases…"

Anita chuckled. "So would I. Unfortunately, if the case doesn't involve a book or some kind of stray pet that will scratch me to death when I try to catch it, we usually have nothing to do with it. Anyway, we were hired to find volume seven of the set, but we hadn't even started looking when Yomiko stumbled onto it at work."

"What happened to the book?" Hisami said.

"It got stolen. It was in the library at the school where Yomiko teaches. One of the other teachers stole it from there."

Tohko's eyes went wide. "Wait…is that the teacher they've been talking about in the news?"

Anita nodded. "The very same. Yomiko tried to stop her, but she got away with the book."

"Was your client mad when you told them about the book?" Chiho said.

Anita shrugged. "We haven't told her yet. Michelle says we might be able to get the book back, so we shouldn't tell the client until we're sure we can't. In the meantime, she wants to try and find more of the books. That's where you come in, Hisa."

"What do you mean?" Hisami said.

"Michelle has this idea that since one of the books was hidden in a school library, others may be hidden in other school libraries, so she wants me to look for it in the library here."

"But that's crazy!" Tohko said. "Using that logic, you'd have to search every school library in the universe for the books!"

Anita nodded. "Yep. That would be Michelle's logic. Do you think you can help me, Hisa?"

"Well," Hisami said, "it should be easy to look it up in the card catalog…"

Anita shook her head. "Michelle says that won't work. The books don't have any real titles or publishing marks, and there's nothing but math in them. There wouldn't be any information to put on a catalog card."

"Oh," Hisami said, sounding dejected.

"If we're going to find it," Anita said, "we have to do it the hard way and search the books on the shelves. Will you help me?"

Hisami perked up some. "Sure! I'll help you, Anita."

"So will we!" Chiho said.

"We can start right after school!" Tohko said. "Between the four of us we'll find the book in no time if it's here."

"Did I hear you say you were looking for a book?" Someone else said. Chiho groaned as Natsume Nishizono approached them. "Well, look no further, because right now I'm in a position to get you an advance copy of the latest masterwork from Haruhi Nishizono, _The Dark Side of Happiness_! If you order now you'll get your copy as soon as it's printed! Anyone interested?"

"Why bother, Natsume?" Tohko groaned. "You're just going to buy half of the printing and give them away to the class anyway!"

"Well, maybe this time I won't!" Natsume said indignantly.

"Yeah, and maybe pigs will start flying tomorrow…" Chiho muttered.

"I heard that!" Natsume growled at her.

"Well, thanks but no thanks," Anita said. "I think I'll just wait until Hisa's book comes out."

Natsume huffed. "Well! You can do that if all you want to read is _juvenile_ fiction!"

Anita growled at her, but before she could say anything, Chiho said incredulously, "Natsume…it's what _your sister_ writes!"

Natsume was only flustered for a second. "Yes…well…it's still more mature than anything Hisami could come up with!"

Hisami blushed and lowered her head at that, and for Anita it was the last straw. She was on her feet like a shot. "That was mean! You take that back!"

"Never!" Natsume said. "The truth is the truth, and I won't stand idly by and have the great writings of Haruhi Nishizono reduced to being compared with lesser works!"

Thus began Anita-Natsume Battle, round twenty-seven, a war of words they had engaged in frequently since Hisami published her first book. It was always an attention-getting sight at lunchtime. Among the spectators were the boys Junior was eating lunch with, including Toru Okahara. "Looks like your girlfriend is at it again, Makuhari," he said with a smirk.

"Girlfriend?" Junior wondered aloud as he looked over at the arguing girls. He assumed Toru meant Anita, but he wasn't sure how true it was. Certainly they lived in the same house, and Anita was probably the first person to show him any real kindness, but it had taken him a long time just to get used to calling her friend. "Girlfriend," as he understood the concept, was a step or two further than he thought he had a right to take the relationship, and Anita herself hadn't really given him a clear indication that he should take it that far.

He decided to ignore the comment and return to the business at hand. "Anita can take care of herself," he stated simply. "There's something else that's more important, something I was hoping you could help me with…"

* * *

"This is stupid," Toru announced as he stood just inside the entrance to the library with the others after school. He was the only one of Junior's lunch group that Junior had managed to recruit. Anita had been more persuasive, bringing in Hisami, Chiho and Tohko. Toru continued as he took stock of the group. "We're just supposed to walk in here, look around and find a book we don't know anything about?"

"It's a daunting task," Junior said, "but not impossible."

"Trust him," Anita said with a smirk. "He's done this kind of thing before." She grinned at him when he looked at her in surprise. It was the closest she'd ever come to telling anybody he was the library poltergeist they were trying to trap a year ago.

Junior composed himself and continued. "We should split up. Okahara and I can take the upper level bookcases…"

"Tohko and I can take this side," Chiho said, pointing off to the left.

"I guess that leaves us with the bookcases on the right, Hisa," Anita said.

"Okay," Hisami said with a nod.

Junior checked his watch. "We don't want to take too long. Let's start looking now and meet back here in an hour and see if anyone's had any luck."

"I still think it's stupid…" Toru muttered.

"Oh, don't be so boring, Okahara," Tohko said. "It'll be fun, like a scavenger hunt!"

"Everybody remember what we're looking for?" Anita said.

"A book with a black leather cover," Hisami said, "with no markings at all on the outside and nothing but math on the inside."

"Right! Good luck everyone!" With that they split up and began searching. Toru was shaking his head all the way to the upper level, but once there he began looking just as diligently as the others. Chiho and Tohko gossiped while they searched, mostly arguing about whether Junior was cuter with the long hair he'd had when they first saw him or with the short cut he currently sported. Anita and Hisami talked mainly about books as they searched, specifically the one Hisami was currently working on. As they hunted all six children stopped every now and again when he or she spotted a book that seemed like it might be the one, or a book that simply caught their eye.

At one point Anita said to Hisami, "I'm going to start looking on the other side," then went around one end of a bookcase to start looking through the books in the next aisle.

"Okay," Hisami said as Anita walked out of sight, then she sighed and resumed the search. She was beginning to lose hope of ever finding what they were looking for. Then she spotted it: a book on a high shelf that looked promising. It had a black leather binding with no distinguishing marks. She'd found similar books since they started, ones that turned out to be other books, but she had a strange feeling about this one. At first she tried to reach up and get it, but it was too high. She looked around, found a step-stool and climbed up to get it. She stood on the stool as she held the book in her hands and slowly opened it. Her eyes went wide when all she found on the pages were intricate math problems.

She closed the book so fast it was as if she thought the math might escape. "Anita," she called out as she climbed down to the floor, "I think I found it!"

She couldn't hear Anita's response, because there was the loudest _crash_ just then, followed by something large and heavy landing with a thud in front of her. Hisami clutched the book to her chest as she stared at the intruder…the biggest, blackest, _meanest_ looking panther she'd ever heard of! It growled softly as it stared back at her, and under the circumstances she did the only thing an intelligent girl could do. She screamed.

Of course the sound of the crash had drawn the attention of everyone in the library that heard it, but Hisami's scream made Toru quicken his step as he raced down from the upper level. Junior waited until he and everyone else up there was out of sight, then quietly phased down through the floor.

Anita, meanwhile, had rounded the bookcase again and moved to stand between Hisami and the animal. She and the panther stared each other down, and as it took a step forward Anita flexed her fingers and reached out to the nearby books.

"Ah-ah-ah! Not so fast, Little Paper Master," a lyrical female voice said in Chinese. Suddenly there was a flash and a pillar of smoke behind the big cat. When the smoke cleared, standing there was a beautiful woman wearing a double-slit skirt and sleeveless shirt. She looked Chinese, was buxom and had a single long braid adorning her otherwise straight, long black hair. "We wouldn't want any extraneous harm to come to your little classmates, would we?"

Before Anita could do anything Toru ran up beside her. "Who are you?!" He said to the woman in a challenging tone.

"Forgive me," she said in Japanese, "where are my manners?" She bowed reverently to Toru. "Lily, the Reader Extraordinaire, at your service, young sir!" She straightened up and indicated the cat with a smile. "And this is my companion, Orion." She turned to Hisami. "And we'll be taking that book from you, my dear."

Hisami took a step back and glanced at her best friend. "Anita…"

"Now, now," Lily said, "there's no use resisting, my…say, you're that writer aren't you? Oh my goodness, you _are! _I read your first novel! It was wonderful! Well, this changes everything!"

"It does?" Hisami asked timidly.

Lily smiled wickedly. "Yes. Now I'll just have to take _you_ along with the book! Orion?"

The cat growled and moved ever closer, making Hisami scream again.

"Hisa," Anita said, without taking her eyes off Orion, "when I tell you to, give the book to Junior!"

Hisami glanced around. "Where is he?"

"He'll be there," Anita said, then she commanded a sheet of paper into her hand and made it rigid.

"Oh, Anita dear," Lily said as she flexed her fingers and made several little vials appear in them. "Why must we do this the _hard_ way?"

Anita wasn't listening. She was watching the bookshelves out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the little glowy telltale that indicated Junior was on the move. When she saw it she didn't hesitate. "Hisa, behind you, _now!_"

Hisami turned around and spotted Junior running past her and holding out his hands. She tossed the book into them, wondering only fleetingly how he could be so close when the end of the aisle was so far behind her.

Lily suddenly became very serious. "Orion, get him!"

Orion roared and pounced, clearing the distance between himself and Junior in one leap. He just wasn't fast enough, and soon he found himself slamming head-first into the bookcase Junior had just phased through. The big cat shook off the concussion, roared and climbed over the bookcase to continue his pursuit.

While Lily's attention was on Orion, Anita created a cloud cover of paper and grabbed Hisami. She pushed her into Toru's arms. "Take her away from here!" She ordered him. For once he didn't argue. As he took Hisami away Anita used library books to create a staircase, then she used it to get some altitude on Lily. She leaped into the air tossing paper daggers at her opponent. Lily dodged them as she tossed vials back at Anita. Anita dodged them in mid-air, then twisted and tried to knock Lily out with a series of kicks. Lily blocked them all, then tried to return the favor using her long, slim legs against the young Paper Master.

As they fought, Junior was busy trying to stay one step ahead of Orion, phasing in and out of bookshelves while the big cat pursued him by jumping over them and knocking them down. Junior fervently wished he had a gun or a knife to use against the creature, but his mother had been adamant about his not bringing weapons to school. He made a mental note to discuss that with her again when he got home later, then headed for one of the walls. He found himself outside when he phased through it, then backed up against it and waited. Orion broke out through a nearby window a second later. Before the cat was even on the ground, Junior reached out and touched it. It hit the ground and kept going, phasing in until its forepaws were locked shoulder-deep in the earth. Orion writhed and growled, but Junior ignored it as he went back inside to try and help Anita.

She found her battle was turning into a stalemate, so Anita did one final somersault over Lily's head and landed behind her, then created more paper cloud cover as she tried to put some distance between herself and the book thief. Lily growled and tossed more vials into the paper storm. They detonated with loud bangs and set the paper on fire, clearing it away in a flurry of ash. When the smoke cleared, Lily tried to find Anita, but she had disappeared, probably behind a bookcase or two. As she took off in pursuit, she spotted Junior coming toward her. He was still holding the book. She had to make a quick decision, and decided the mission was most important. With that, she showered Junior with vials that exploded on impact and released a strange mist. Junior tried to phase through it, but had caught a small whiff. It was enough to daze and confuse him. While he was disoriented, Lily disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared in another puff behind him. "I'll take that," she said as she plucked the book from Junior's grasp. He tried to hold on, but his phasing power was as out of control as the rest of his body, so she easily slipped it from his grip.

Lily clutched the book to her chest and looked around frantically. Anita had reappeared and was charging at her with blood in her eye, while little Hisami Hishaishi was nowhere to be found. Lily came to another decision. "I guess I'll come back for my little author later," she said to Anita, then she blew the girl a kiss and turned to the outside wall. An explosive vial blew out an exit for her and she spotted Orion as she emerged from the smoke. Another explosive vial freed him, and a second later Lily was straddling him as he made an impossible leap away from the library. By the time Anita got outside the pair was a dark speck in the afternoon sky receding into the distance.

"Dammit," Anita muttered. She felt all kinds of useless as she watched the thief get away. Junior came up next to her a moment later, on his feet and solid but still a little dazed. "You okay?" She asked him.

"I will be," he said. "What did she hit me with?"

"One of her potions. They usually work more effectively on men, so don't feel bad that you couldn't shake it off." With that, Anita noticed that a crowd of students was starting to gather around them, led by their friends. "Hey," she called out, "is everybody okay?"

No one said anything for a moment, then Chiho smiled wide and yelled out, "That…was…_so cool!_"

"That had to be the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Tohko said. "You _rock_, Anita!"

"You too, Junior!" Chiho said. "How did you do that??"

Both Anita and Junior smiled and blushed as their classmates sung their praises. Only two of the students were silent. One was Hisami, who simply looked at Anita with silent awe and selfish pride at being her friend. The other was Toru, standing next to her. All he could do was shake his head as he noted all the destruction and angst and that the strange woman had gotten away with the book they were looking for anyway.

"Stupid…" he finally muttered.

* * *

When the Dean of Students and Vice Principal arrived at the library to find out what was going on, they couldn't quite bring themselves to believe the fanciful tales the children were telling them about magical book thieves and black panthers, but they couldn't deny the damage done to the library, so they immediately sent everyone home and arranged for school to be closed the next day so that a proper investigation could begin. Hisami was invited to the Sumiregawa home that night, and was barely in the door a few seconds before she found herself in Michelle's unshakable clutches. "We heard you had a terrible fright!" Michelle said to her in a sing-song voice.

"I was okay," Hisami said. "Anita protected me."

Michelle squeezed tighter. "Well, we'll all protect you now! That evil girl won't get her hands on you!"

Anita huffed indignantly. "Michelle, she's already had one insane bibliophile try to kidnap her today!" With that Anita kicked her older sister away from her best friend roughly.

Nenene watched the scene with a shake of her head. She reached out to Hisami. "Come on," she said. "I want to introduce you to my parents."

Hisami smiled and took Nenene's hand. "I'd like that very much. Thank you, Miss Sumiregawa."

As they walked into the living room, Michelle picked herself up and brushed herself off. "Anita's mean…" she muttered.

"I've never heard of this 'Lily' before," Yomiko said. "Who is she?"

"An old adversary from back in Hong Kong," Michelle said. "She's a bibliophile and a master thief."

"I can't believe we let her get away with the book," Anita groused.

Michelle went over to give Anita a more sedate hug. "It's all right, Anita dear. You're safe, and now that we know she wants Hisami it's more important that we protect her. Lily can have the book."

"Do you think she's working with Miss Gold?" Nancy asked.

Yomiko shrugged. "Maybe," she said, "but something else is bothering me. Does anyone else find it a strange coincidence that two volumes of this Archimedes Text were hidden at my school and Anita's?"

"It is strange at first glance," Michelle said, "but where Anita goes to school isn't a state secret, and Miss Gold apparently knew who you were, Yomiko. Suppose whoever hid the books chose those places because they knew you'd be there and hoped that you two would be enough to protect them?"

"If that's the case," Anita said, "then I bet that person is really disappointed right now."

Michelle gave her one more comforting squeeze, then had a sudden insight. "Yomiko, can I borrow your cell phone?"

"Oh, certainly…" Yomiko fished the device out of her suit jacket and handed it Michelle. Michelle nodded her thanks, dialed a number and waited patiently for an answer. "Who are you calling?" Yomiko asked.

"Becky Miao," Michelle said. "I guess I'll have to tell her that we're not having much luck getting the book for her."

Anita's eyes went wide. "Wait, _Becky Miao_ is our client?? Michelle! Don't you remember?"

Michelle looked at her, then thought about the day's events, and then it clicked, and as it did Anita explained to Yomiko and Nancy.

Nancy frowned. "I _knew_ there was something I didn't like about her!"

* * *

In an apartment in another part of the city, Lily presented the volume of the Archimedes Texts to her patron. "It looks like your plan worked," the patron said.

"I'm not sure," Lily said. "It got us a volume of the texts, but I don't know if it's the volume you wanted. Apparently, another volume was hidden at the school where the Paper is teaching, and it was stolen before I started following her in earnest."

"That does come as a surprise," the patron said as she examined the book. "Still, following the girl has yielded positive results."

"I thought it would," Lily said. "Anita and I have a special relationship."

The patron nodded, then completed her examination of the book, noting several strange markings on the inside cover. "Well, it's _not _the seventh volume. It's the fifth."

Lily was immediately crestfallen. "I've failed you after all."

"On the contrary. We didn't expect two of the volumes to be in Japan at the same time, and though we didn't get the one we came for, getting the other is adequate compensation. We can still go ahead with our plans."

"So…I've done well?"

"Yes, Lily, you've done well."

"Then may I _please_ have the next volume?"

The patron smiled, then reached into her desk drawer and took out a more modern book. "_Champion of The Dark_," she said as she handed it to Lily. "An advance copy of Taku Noroku's latest."

Lily squealed as she snatched the book from her hands, then she kissed her patron on the forehead, then trotted over to the couch to get comfortable and begin reading. Orion saw this and padded over to curl up near her feet.

With Lily satisfied, the patron went back to examining volume five of the Archimedes Texts. She was extremely confident. Her enemies knew how powerful all ten volumes were together, but only she and a select few knew how powerful each book was on its own. She would enjoy demonstrating the fact to everyone, eventually, but she had a lead on another volume and she wanted that in her possession before hand.

That was a mission for another time. For now, she locked the volume up in her desk, then went to sit with Lily and Orion.


	4. The Sumiregawa Bunch

**DISCLAIMER:** _R.O.D. and all related characters are the property of Shuei Sha (Ultra Jump and Superdash), Manga Entertainment and New Generation Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

* * *

**R.O.D. - THE FAN FICTION**

**By Darrin Colbourne**

"We should do something," Eiichi said with enthusiasm. "It's our last day before Kiri and I have to go back. Everyone will be home. All of us should spend one last day together." It was the end of the week, and as usual everyone in the Sumiregawa household was gathered in the living room. Eiichi's suggestion made everyone turn away from their various activities and turn to him.

Anita suddenly beamed. "We should go to Disneyworld!"

"I have a better idea," Michelle said triumphantly. "We should go to the National Library!"

"Oh, absolutely!" Yomiko said. "They've just finished renovating it. We should go and see what new books they've added to the collection since last year!"

"Do you think they left our old place for us, Yomiko?" Nancy chimed in. "I'd love to see."

"New books…" Maggie muttered, a tiny smile on her face.

By the time the others were done the smile on Anita's face had morphed into an exasperated frown. "Are you people serious? Don't we have _enough_ books all over the place upstairs??"

"Hear, hear!" Nenene said.

Anita went on as if she hadn't heard. "We should go to Disneyworld!"

"Anita," Junior said, "why exactly should we go to Disneyworld?"

She turned to him. "Are you kidding? Don't you know?" He shook his head, and Anita realized then that the evil British Library people that raised him probably kept fun stuff like that a secret. "We should go because there's rides, and people in costume, and robot pirates and stuff! It's great!"

Junior was skeptical. "So you've been there and seen all that?"

"No, I haven't," Anita huffed, "But I want to! That's why we should go!"

"It does sound like fun," Kirika said.

Anita turned to Michelle in triumph. "See? Mrs. Sumiregawa wants to go! I bet Mr. Sumiregawa wants to go, too!"

Yomiko turned to appeal to the elder Sumiregawas. "Oh, but there will be _two_ Disneyworlds for you to visit when you get back to the States. From a cultural standpoint, it's much more important to visit the National Library, to see what literary treasures have been restored there."

"Hear, Hear!" Michelle called out with a giggle.

"Oh, please," Nenene said. "All those treasures will still be sitting there collecting dust when we're done at the amusement park…unless somebody else tries to take it over and torch it again like the British Library did."

"That's exactly why we should go there!" Michelle said. "What if that does happen before we get a chance to?"

Eiichi's eyebrow went up. "Aren't you being just a bit paranoid? There is no British Library anymore, and who else would want to take it over and torch it?"

"There are evil characters all over the world that might," Nancy said, "like Lily and Miss Gold and whoever they're working for."

"You can never tell…" Maggie muttered.

Eiichi was going to say something else, but Michelle stopped him by tapping imperiously on the coffee table with her book. Then she cleared her throat and called out "It's time for a _Sumiregawa Family Vote!_" When she had everyone's attention: "All those in favor of visiting the National Library for a day of fun reading and cultural awareness, raise your hand!" Her hand went up immediately, followed in short order by Maggie's, Yomiko's and Nancy's. When they lowered their hands: "All in favor of wasting valuable time and money in a kiddy park overrun with cartoon mice, raise your hands." Undeterred, Anita raised both her hands high. The Sumiregawas were more reserved, but they each raised a hand as well.

Then they all looked at Junior. "What is it?" he asked.

"You have the deciding vote," Michelle said. She was wearing her most charming smile.

Junior looked around the room, then looked away from everyone as he thought about it. Half-a-minute later he looked at Michelle and said clearly, "I want to see the cartoon mice."

Anita cheered and Michelle pouted. "Anita turned him against us…" Michelle huffed.

"Don't be sad, Michelle dear," Eiichi said. "I really wanted us to do something together as a family, and visiting Disneyworld is more of a family thing. It will be great." He looked off into space and smiled. "Why, we haven't been to Disneyworld Tokyo since we took Nenene there years ago." He turned to his wife. "Remember?"

"Oh, Nenene was so young then!" Kirika said. "That was just before she really became interested in writing. It was fun, wasn't it?"

Anita was wide-eyed. "Nenene, _you've_ been to Disneyworld? You never told us that!"

"You never asked, brat," Nenene said. "I could have told you how much you'll love it there. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like this idea." She was smiling, but she blinked and sobered a bit when she saw the family bibliophiles still looking dejected. "Oh, cheer up, girls. We'll visit the National Library first thing the next time my parents are in town."

Michelle pouted. "I'm holding you to that!"

"Then it's settled," Eiichi said. "We should talk about what we're going to do first when we get there!"

Anita was beaming again. "I know exactly which ride I'm going on first!"

* * *

Meanwhile, one of the men staying in the house across the road listened patiently as the person on the other end of his cell connection southern-drawled through his side of their conversation. "Now that the gold paper chick has gotten us the seventh volume we can get down to business, which means you don't have to watch all them other chicks in the house no more."

"What exactly are you saying?" The man was careful not to use the other man's title. Someone could just as easily be listening in on them as they were listening in on the Sumiregawas.

"I'm sayin' that it's time we got pro-active on their be-hinds! I want you to eliminate 'em."

The man blinked. "How exactly should I do that?"

"I'll leave the details up to you, just so's you make sure that they can't do _nothing_ to head off our plans. Take'em outta the equation!"

The man paused, taking a moment to think a curse, then said, "Take them out of the equation. I understand. We'll take care of that immediately."

"See that ya do!" With that the other man hung up.

The first man turned off his phone just as one of his colleagues came over to him. "It's your turn on the mikes."

"Right," the man said as he checked his watch. "What are they talking about over there now?"

The colleague grinned. "They're going to _Disney_world!" He said, doing his best impression of the old commercials. Then he got serious. "What did the boss want?"

"He wants us to take them out," the man said.

The colleague winced. "Is he serious? We don't have anywhere near enough men and equipment with us to take out four paper masters and two phasers!"

"I think we can do it with the men and materiel we have. Just remember where you are."

The colleague shrugged. "Japan. So?"

"Remember the conversation they had the Sumiregawas' first night here?" The colleague nodded. "Here, in Japan, it's something we can use."

And as the Sumiregawa Extended Family made their amusement park plans, the men in the house across the road began making plans of their own.

* * *

Getting the whole brood there required renting a second car, which couldn't be done in time to beat the normal weekend crowds, but with extraordinary patience the Sumiregawas and their charges entered the gates of Walt Disney World Tokyo early enough to enjoy the full day. They were greeted by someone in Mickey Mouse cosplay, which Junior regarded with great suspicion. He was contemplating what he'd find inside if he phased his head into that of the costume, but he never got a chance to act on the notion, because soon after they got in they were off to purchase various park passes and tickets - with Eiichi treating everyone - and soon after that Anita was dragging him off to some ride ominously named "Parachute Drop." Nancy and Maggie chased after the kids, while Yomiko pulled Michelle aside and began whispering in her ear. Whatever she was saying suddenly made Michelle giggle with enthusiasm, and after Yomiko was done both women excused themselves with polite bows, then hurried away to another part of the park.

Eiichi scratched his head and smiled as he watched everyone disperse. "So much for spending the day as a family," he said.

"That's all right, Dad," Nenene said. "We'll be together for lunch at least, but it's good to let them blow off some steam this way."

Kirika was curious. "I know where the kids are going, but where do you suppose Yomiko and Michelle ran off to?"

Nenene dismissed the concern with a wave. "Knowing them, they probably ran off to see what kind of books they could find in the gift shop. For true bibliophiles it's almost a biological imperative."

"Well, personally, I want to start out with a ride," Eiichi said. "A more sedate one, of course. Hopefully they haven't moved the Teacup Ride."

"You go on ahead," Kirika said. "Nenene and I are going to go powder our noses."

"Okay, but don't take too long."

"We won't," Nenene said. Father, mother and daughter went their separate ways after that.

* * *

Some time later, Eiichi was standing by the Teacup Ride looking at his watch and wondering what was taking Kirika and Nenene so long. They'd been gone for nearly an hour and a half, during which time Eiichi had glimpsed the children twice as Anita dragged Junior to successively more spine-tingling rides. It had been twenty minutes since he'd last seen them, or anyone else, but the whereabouts of his wife and daughter worried him most.

Just as it occurred to him to set off and find them, his cell phone started to vibrate. "This is Sumiregawa," he said when he answered.

"Don't talk, just listen," someone said in accented Japanese. "We have your wife and daughter."

Eiichi's blood ran cold. He couldn't think of anything to say at first, then suddenly he was filled with dread. "Who is this?!" he demanded.

"I said just listen!" the caller said. The voice was being disguised by some kind of electronic device. "You don't need to know who I am. All you need to know is that we have Nenene and Kirika and their lives are forfeit if you don't do _exactly _what I tell you to do. Do you understand?"

Eiichi ground his teeth and clenched his free hand into a fist so tight that his fingernails dug into the skin of his palm. He was enraged, but he also realized he was helpless. "I understand. What do you want me to do?"

There was silence on the line for a few seconds, then: "The women you call the Paper Sisters have begun looking for a set of books called the Archimedes Texts. We want you to stop them."

"How on Earth would I do that?" Eiichi said.

"You will use your authority as the patriarch of their new family to _order_ them to stop."

Eiichi took the phone away from his ear to give it an incredulous look. "You want me to do _what?"_

"Make your wishes known to the eldest sister. Give her whatever reason you want as to why you want the investigation stopped, as long as you don't say anything about Kirika and Nenene. When we have confirmation that they are no longer looking for the texts, we'll let our hostages go, unharmed. If you try to inform the police or mount your own rescue, we will kill them. Do you understand?"

Eiichi bowed his head, defeated. "I understand. I'll do as you say…but how do I know you haven't already killed them?"

"You don't, and you never will know if you don't cooperate. You simply have no alternative."

"I see your point," Eiichi muttered. "How long do I have?"

"Until the end of the day. Remember, Mr. Sumiregawa, your wife and daughter are depending on you."

The man on the other end clicked off then, leaving Eiichi alone and confused as to what he should do. He stood there for about a minute before heading off to find a bench so he could sit down. As he sat, he agonized over the conversation he'd just had even more. Should he have demanded to talk to Kiri or Nenene? Or would that have put them in greater danger? He didn't know, and he held his face in his hands as the thought of the two of them being in danger at all ate at him.

* * *

Elsewhere, the man Eiichi had been speaking to smiled a confident smile as his captives arrived at the alternate safe house via unmarked van. He was inordinately pleased with himself. He'd just set in motion a plan worthy of Sun Tzu. It would allow him to accomplish his ultimate goal without firing a shot in anger and it played on his enemies' weaknesses, namely those of Michelle Chan.

Like all the Paper Masters created by Dokusensha's genetic engineering program, Michelle had developed a serious mental flaw proportionate to the level of power she possessed. In her case it was an obsession with family, as if the lack of knowledge of her true origins compelled her to make family of whomever she came across. Under normal circumstances, the eldest Paper Sister's adoptive tendencies were based on one-sided emotions and desires, but things were different with Eiichi Sumiregawa. This time, probably only for the second time in her life, someone had _volunteered_ to become a member of her family, with little or no effort on her part, and that action had netted her a mother and a father, the two people without whom no family was truly complete. It had indeed been a generous act on Sumiregawa's part, one that had to have affected Michelle greatly.

That was the key. That was why Sumiregawa had to confront Michelle. If he were firm, if he left no doubt in Michelle's mind that it was his wish that she give up on the Archimedes Texts, her compulsion would force her to comply, rather than risk losing her new father because of her defiance. She would comply, and force her sisters to comply as well, and she would make sure Yomiko Readman would comply as well. The four greatest obstacles to their plans would be out of the way, and all it would require would be a few forceful words from an expatriate businessman.

He checked his watch. The Papers and the others would be regrouping for lunch soon. Sumiregawa was being kept under surveillance. They'd know soon enough if he could handle his assignment.

* * *

It felt like he'd been sitting there for ages, lost in thought, but it had actually only been a few minutes before a sing-song voice broke Eiichi out of his reverie. "Mr. Sumiregawa! Hi!"

Eiichi looked up to see Michelle coming toward him. "There you are," he said when she got close, trying to sound casual. "Where have you been?"

Michelle was beaming. "Yomiko and I have been reading the park!"

"Reading the park?" Eiichi said.

Michelle nodded. "It was Yomiko's idea. She said that a place like this would have signs at all the major attractions that would tell their stories, so if we went around reading them, it would be like the park was one big book! She was right! I've never had so much fun in my life!"

Eiichi managed a smile. "I guess this place has something for everyone after all. Um…where is Yomiko?"

"Oh…she said she wanted to go on the ride with the robot pirates to see if any of them were like Johnny Depp, but she promised she'd try to be on time for lunch."

"Okay…"

Michelle bent low to look Eiichi in the eye. "Are you all right, Mr. Sumiregawa? You kind of looked like Maggie usually does when I first spotted you."

Eiichi fought to find the right words, then looked away as he said, "I…I just have some things on my mind."

Michelle nodded. "I understand. You can never truly get away from your business, can you? It's always on your mind."

"I suppose it is…"

"But it's okay, because I can see that no matter how busy you get you find ways to show your family that you love them."

"Is that what you see?"

"Yes. It's very admirable. Um…where are Mrs. Sumiregawa and Nenene?"

Eiichi almost choked on the words. "They, um…they went to the bathroom."

"Oh. Well, I'll wait for them with you if you'd like."

"Actually, I'd like that very much, Michelle."

Michelle smiled prettily and sat down next to Eiichi on the bench, then started looking around, presumably for Kirika and Nenene. "How long have they been gone?"

Eiichi barely heard her. He was working up the courage to say what he needed to say. Finally he sat up straight and turned to Michelle. "Michelle, there's something I need to say to you."

Michelle looked at him attentively, still smiling. "Yes? What is it, Mr. Sumiregawa?"

"I…um…" Eiichi began. He found he couldn't continue as he looked into those innocent-looking eyes and that smiling face and they reminded him of how Michelle had received him when they first met, and how she had treated him with such kindness and respect ever since. _How can I act like a tyrant with her?_ He thought. _She really is like a daughter to me now. How can I force her to stop doing what she obviously loves to do?_ Finally he just looked away again and covered his face with his hands. "I just don't know what to do…"

Michelle softly clasped one of his wrists with her hand. "It's okay," she said. "You can tell me anything. I'll try to help if I can."

* * *

"He's talking with her now," the agent watching Sumiregawa reported.

"What's he saying?" the man asked.

"Can't tell from this angle," the agent said. "Can't see his mouth to read his lips. Too bad we couldn't use a mike on this job."

The man grunted in agreement, remembering why they weren't using microphones. In the daytime, a place like Disneyworld would be too crowded and noisy for even the best directional mikes to be useful, and there was simply no way to properly bug an amusement park. Until they managed to slip a bug on one of the subjects themselves they would have to rely on old-fashioned techniques to spy on them.

* * *

"It's Kiri and Nenene," Eiichi finally blurted out. "They have them."

"Who has them?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know! Some men…" He told Michelle about the phone call and the kidnaper's wishes. His voice broke several times as he spoke. "I don't know what to do."

Michelle lowered her hand and turned away from Eiichi, lost in thought. After a few moments, she said, "I'd be happy to stop looking for the Texts, Mr. Sumiregawa, if that's what you want, but…you understand that they might not give Nenene and Mrs. Sumiregawa back, even if you give them what they want."

"I'd been trying not to think about that," Eiichi said, "but you're right. There's no telling what they might do."

"In that case," Michelle said, "may I suggest we try something else?" With that she leaned close and whispered something in Eiichi's ear. He seemed astonished for a moment, then he was lost in thought.

"What if you can't?" He asked.

"We'll try our best," Michelle said, "but if it turns out that we really can't, then we'll give the kidnapers what they want. Either way, I promise you that you will be reunited with your family."

"You seem so sure of that."

Michelle smiled. "Family is important. It's the thing I'm most sure of, so it's not a hard promise for me to make."

Eiichi looked at her for a moment, then smiled back and came to a decision. "Let's find the others," he said as he stood up."

* * *

The agent watched as Sumiregawa and Michelle Chan stood up and walked away from the bench. "Subject's moving," he reported.

"Any indication where they're going?" the man asked.

"Not yet. I'll know in a minute."

"Any idea what they talked about?"

"No, but from what I can tell your crazy plan may be working. It's the way Paper Sister's walking." The cheery smile that seemed like a permanent fixture on Michelle's face was gone, her head was bowed and she was walking a step behind Sumiregawa.

"Keep us apprised," the man said. "Our 'guests' are secure on this end."

* * *

Elsewhere in the safe house, sitting in chairs and tied back-to-back, Nenene and Kirika Sumiregawa were waiting for some word as to their captors' motives and intentions. Kirika was sick with worry, but she was trying to emulate her daughter's unnatural calm, so her voice didn't shake at all when she asked, "What do you think they'll do with us?"

Nenene shrugged as best she could in her bonds. "Hopefully it will be something imaginative. They have a lot to live up to. The last bunch wanted to tie my brain into a massive dead writer machine, and the bunch before that tried to use hypnosis to fill me with a 'perfect language'. Of course, nothing beats what happened the day when Yomiko and I first met. You know you're important when men with trucks steal half a school library just to kidnap you."

Kirika looked over her shoulder at Nenene. "So all those things _really_ happened?"

"What? You didn't believe what I wrote you in my letters?"

"To be honest, Nenene dear, I'd always thought you made it all up because you were lonely. I mean, now that I've met Yomiko and the others I could believe _some_ of it was true, but it wasn't until just now that it hit me: you really get kidnapped an awful lot, don't you?"

"Strange, but true. I really am a psycho magnet."

"Maybe, but…well…at least some of them are friendly psychos, like the girls."

Nenene smiled. "Again, strange, but true."

Kirika turned back to stare at the wall opposite her. "Actually, it kind of makes me feel sorry we left you here all alone."

"Oh, no, Mom! Other than all the kidnappings I've been doing great! You have nothing to feel sorry about."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. And even the kidnappings weren't all that bad."

"How can you say that?"

"Remember those friendly psychos I live with?"

"Yes."

"They'd never let me stay in captivity long enough for being kidnapped to be a serious problem. Trust me."

"Do you think they'll come for us now?"

"If they know we've been taken, they're coming. We just have to be patient and not die before they get here."

"Okay. I think I can handle that. No wonder you're so calm. It must be wonderful to have such friends."

"Well, they're family now, mainly thanks to Dad."

"I suppose they are…oh, no. Do you think they hurt your father when they took us?"

"I doubt it. They need him healthy and cooperative if they intend to ransom us."

"So you think they want money?"

"Oh, god, I hope not! After all the other things, that would just be so _boring_."

* * *

"Looks like they're just rounding up the troops," The agent reported. "The little girl's pitching a fit right now. Probably mad 'cause they're leaving early. Blondie's whispering something in her ear. That calmed her down."

Something wasn't right. Why would they leave early? All Sumiregawa had to do was tell Michelle not to look for the Texts. Why ruin the others' day before it was necessary? No one but Sumiregawa would have missed Nenene and Kirika before lunch, and it would have been easy enough to make up an excuse. Instead, now they couldn't help but know there was a problem. "I think we've been burned," the man said.

"Want me to take care of the hostages?" A gunman asked.

"No. I gave the man 'till the end of the day, so I'll keep my word." Even if the Papers were being told about the Sumiregawa women, they wouldn't know were they were being held, so the original rules were still in effect: stop looking for the Texts or kiss Nenene and Kirika goodbye…and if husband and father were too spineless to put his foot down about it, he would just deliver the message himself directly to Michelle Chan.

"Uh-oh," the agent said.

"What is it?" The man said.

"I could have sworn the tall one looked right at me for a second, but she looked away too quick. I don't think I've been spotted, but I'm going to put a little more distance between me and…"

The man waited for a few seconds, then said, "And? And? Hello…you still there?" He turned to their communications expert. "Have we been having problems with the sub-aural radios?"

"Um…no," the expert said "His radio should still be working fine."

"But he's not talking," the man said.

"I noticed that."

The man thought about it for a moment, then called out: "Everybody gear up! I want us ready to throw down on somebody in five minutes!"

"You think they're coming?" The gunman asked.

"I think I'm not taking any chances." It was one thing if their whereabouts were unknown, but if the Papers had just captured somebody who might _talk…_

* * *

Later, the alert situation didn't seem all that urgent. The Papers had had plenty of time to reach the safe house and attempt a rescue, yet it was late in the afternoon and no attempt had been made. For some of the men on alert it felt anticlimactic, but no one was letting down their guard. Though their resources were small, there were enough men to cover each ground floor entrance and each landing of the staircase, as well as men to cover the room the hostages were in and patrol the hallway beyond. The mood among them was vigilant but confident. They'd all been briefed on Agent Paper and the Paper Sisters, and while they would all offer the women a healthy dose of respect, several of the men were upbeat about their chances.

Of course, the man who orchestrated everything wasn't one of them. Though he tried not to show it, he had been second-guessing himself ever since he'd lost contact with his agent. Now, facing the possible threat of a Paper invasion, his brilliant plan didn't seem all that brilliant, and he wondered just how much damage control he had to do. He was hoping he would have enough time to talk to the Papers rationally, but…

Just as he thought that, his cell phone went off. He checked the caller ID and answered it. "What can I do for you?"

The caller was his boss. "Just checkin' in. How are we doing over there?"

"I have a plan in operation right now. We may have hit a snag or two, but I expect to achieve the goals you set by the end of the day."

"Good, good. Now, it's not that I don't trust ya…well, actually I _don't _trust ya, so why don't you tell me about this plan of yours."

The man laid it out for his boss, explaining the reasoning slowly and carefully. The boss seemed to be taking everything in, not interrupting at any time and staying silent for several moments afterward. The man expected that when the boss spoke again it would be to congratulate him on his thinking or simply chide him for not having a more concrete contingency plan.

That made it all the more surprising when the boss shattered his eardrum with: "_ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN' MIND??!"_

When he recovered, the man said, "Sir, it's a cultural thing you might not understand…"

"I'm not talkin' about that, ya dumbass!! Geez! How long have you been in this job?"

"Ten years. Why…"

"No, that can't be true, because if you had been in this business for the past ten years then you'd know the one thing every mercenary knows, that _the last person on the planet you ever kidnap is Nenene Sumiregawa!"_

"Well, actually I have heard that, sir, but now that I've actually done it I fail to see why it's such a big deal…"

The answer to his question came in the form of a loud crash outside the office he was sitting in. He raced out and found a few of his men standing around and looking at something on the floor. As the man got closer he realized that they were looking at the front door. It had been knocked in, apparently by some giant cocoon. As he examined the object and saw the eyes of what was writhing around inside it, his blood ran cold. It wasn't a cocoon.

It was his agent, completely encased in _paper_.

Just as that realization sunk in, his worst nightmare walked through the door in a group led by Michelle. "Hello!" She called out cheerily. "We're the Paper Sisters, and these are our other sisters Yomiko and Nancy, and our little brother Junior, and we're here to rescue Nenene and Kirika Sumiregawa!" She looked around the lobby, then finally locked eyes with the man. Then she raised her bow and aimed an arrow right between his eyes and said, "And I choose _you_ to tell us where they are!"

The man's jaw dropped. She had been smiling the whole time. She was smiling now, with her bow set to send a paper arrow straight through his skull, and at that moment he realized that it was probably the most frightening smile he'd ever seen.

As he raised his automatic pistol toward her, his other hand brought the phone back up to his ear. "Sir," he said, "I'm going to have to call you back."

* * *

"Oh, my!" Kirika said. "What's happening out there?" She'd heard the sound of what had to be several automatic weapons firing, followed by more gunshots interspersed with the sound of heavy objects hitting the walls and floor and - strangely - several men screaming.

Nenene was still perfectly calm. "Oh, that's just the girls. Toldja. We just had to be patient."

"Oh," Kirika said as she listened more closely. The sounds did seem to be getting closer, and at one point they seemed especially loud right outside the door, then they died off completely, until the only sound left was that of someone in high-heeled shoes coming near the room. Kirika watched the door, fully expecting to see some strange woman walk through it at any moment…so she almost missed it when part of the wall began to sparkle and the woman poked her torso through that instead. She had an automatic pistol extended ahead of her and swept the room with it before her eyes locked with Kirika's.

Kirika's jaw dropped. "Nancy!"

Nancy blinked and lowered her weapon, then smiled prettily and waved before she retreated through the wall. "They're in here!" Kirika heard her call out, then Nancy walked all the way back into the room as if she were a ghost, holstering her gun as she did so. "I'm so glad you're both okay," Nancy said as she untied the others.

"We're glad to see you, too," Kirika said as she examined the wall in utter shock. It _looked_ like it was solid. Ultimately, she decided not to try to think about, turning to Nancy and concentrating instead on the other surprising thing about her. She was wearing her "Miss Deep" outfit. "That's an interesting costume you have on."

"Do you like it?" Nancy asked with a smile.

"Nancy dear, I can honestly say I've never seen one person wear that much leather at one time in my whole life…but it suits you."

As Nancy finished with the ropes, Kirika's attention was brought back to the door as it was forced off it's hinges, and she goggled as one of Maggie's familiars carried it into the room, followed by Maggie herself, then Michelle, Anita, Yomiko and Junior. They were all dressed strangely. The Paper Sisters looked like circus performers, while Junior was wearing just as much leather as his mother. Yomiko, back in her British Library uniform and Londoner raincoat, looked almost normal by comparison.

Michelle beamed when she saw Nenene and Kirika. "You're both all right! I'm so glad, and Mr. Sumiregawa will be glad to see you, too."

"Is he all right, Michelle?" Kirika said.

"He's fine. We had him wait outside for us while we came in. We're going to take you to him right now."

As they all started out the door, Anita whined, "Didja have to get kidnapped _today_, Nenene? We were in freakin' _Disneyworld_, for god's sake!"

Nenene rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Anita. Next time we go to Disneyworld I'll tell all the bad guys that they have to wait till we're done before they kidnap me. And Yomiko, I thought I _burned_ those clothes!"

Yomiko grinned. "Not these! They're made of paper! Michelle showed me how to do it!"

"It's really easy," Michelle said, "once you get the hang of it."

Kirika was looking around, trying not to notice all the unconscious and/or bloody men she had to go around as she walked. "We're in an apartment building," she noted.

"Yes," Michelle said. "You didn't know?"

"They blindfolded us when they took us," Nenene said, "and they didn't take the blindfolds off until we were tied up in there."

"We're in Akihabara," Nancy said as they reached the stairs. "This building was probably a safe house for the men who took you. There don't seem to be any normal tenants."

"Why'd they grab us in the first place?" Nenene said. "These guys don't look like the type to try and resurrect somebody like Mr. Gentleman." All the men they passed were dressed in black and gray combat fatigues and facemasks.

"That wasn't it," Michelle said. "It was very strange. They kidnapped you two to make Mr. Sumiregawa order me to stop looking for the Archimedes Texts."

Nenene and Kirika looked at Michelle in shock, then both of them started laughing. "Oh man, did they kidnap the wrong parent!" Nenene said.

Kirika got control of herself before she explained. "Oh, Michelle, I don't think Eiichi could get up the courage to order you to do anything. He's such a _pushover_ when it comes to girls. _I_ was the one who disciplined Nenene all the time when she was a child."

"Yeah, Michelle," Nenene said. "Dad's the only reason I got to stay in Japan when they moved to America. All I had to do was look all cute and say 'Daddy, may I please, _please_ stay here with all my school friends and all my writing? Pretty please?' and he couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. Mom was always the tough one."

"Wait," Anita said, "how did you ever manage to look 'cute'?"

"Quiet, brat!" Nenene growled. Anita grinned and ducked before Nenene could grab her hair.

They reached the lobby a moment later and spotted Eiichi poking his head in the door. "Kiri!" he said. "You're all right!"

"Oh, sweetheart!" Kirika said. The elder Sumiregawas ran to each other and embraced, then Eiichi reached out to Nenene and she joined in.

Everyone else looked on with smiles on their faces. Tears came to Michelle's eyes, and even Anita and Junior couldn't help but be affected. "So…So…" Maggie muttered.

"I'm just so glad to see you again," Kirika said to Eiichi. "I was worried, but Nenene was so sure the girls would find us."

"That was Maggie's doing," Eiichi said. "She brought us right to you. Didn't you tell her, Nenene?"

"I was getting to it," Nenene said, then she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled something out. She opened her fist so that Kirika could see. Sitting in the palm of her hand was a tiny paper doll. Kirika blinked when it sat up and waved to her. "It's one of Maggie's familiars. I've been keeping one in my pocket ever since we all moved in together. This way, whenever I'm kidnapped, it will call out to Maggie and she can use it to track me to anywhere in the world."

"Incredible!" Kirika said with a chuckle.

Eiichi smiled at her, then got serious as he looked around the room. "I couldn't wait to see you two, but I also came in here because I wanted to see the faces of the men who would threaten my family!"

Michelle gasped, then pointed at one of the men. "Start with him, Mr. Sumiregawa," she said.

Eiichi looked where she was pointing and spotted a man pinned to the far wall by a mass of paper. Only his head and hands were visible. "Why him in particular?" he asked as he started over.

"He was carrying a cell phone when we came in," Michelle said, "and he ordered the others to fire. I think he's the leader."

Everyone else regrouped behind Eiichi as he examined the man and finally pulled off the facemask. Everyone was mildly surprised by what they saw. "He's Japanese," Nancy said.

"No," Eiichi said, "he's Japanese-_American_."

Everyone gasped at that. "How do you know?" Yomiko asked.

"The man I spoke to disguised his voice, but he couldn't completely disguise his accent. He spoke to me in Japanese, but it was the type of Japanese spoken by foreigners who learn it from speedy language courses. I hear it all the time in my work. I'm willing to bet that this man was born and raised in the United States, and only learned Japanese later in life. I bet that's the case with all of them."

This time Yomiko gasped. "I thought there was something familiar about them! They're dressed like the Americans that had us trapped in my parents house last year!"

"Jeez," Anita said. "First Miss Gold and now these guys. Is the United States trying to take over Japan or something?"

"Probably not," Michelle said, "but there definitely seem to be some Americans who want the Archimedes Texts, and they're apparently willing to do anything to get them." She sighed as she got closer to Eiichi. "This was all so unnecessary. I would have given up on the Texts soon anyway. I mean, since Anita reminded me that Becky Miao was Lily, The Reader Extraordinaire, we don't really have a client to find them for."

"Oh, yes you do," Eiichi said. When everyone looked at him, he looked at Michelle and said, "These men went out of their way to kidnap my wife and child just so that I would tell you to give up, Michelle. Well, now here's what I'm telling you: I _want_ you to find all the Archimedes Texts, and I want you to find out who else wants them and what they plan to do with them, and if they're up to no good, I want you to stop them, and if that's what it takes for you to do it, then _I'm _your client!"

Michelle just stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, then she smiled and began to tear up. "Do you really mean that?" she whispered. "Do you really have that much faith in me?"

Eiichi cupped her chin in his hand and smiled lovingly. "You promised me I would be reunited with my family and you kept that promise. _Of course_ I have that much faith in you."

Michelle laughed a little through her tears, then she looked around at the others, then she composed herself and bowed deeply before Eiichi. "Thank you, Mr. Sumiregawa," she said. "I'll do my best to accomplish the goals you've set for me. I promise I won't let you down."

"Good," Eiichi said. "Now let's get out of here! Maybe we can still get in an hour of fun back at Disneyworld before it closes."

"Cool!" Anita said. She led the way out the door, dragging Junior behind her. The others followed, with the Sumiregawas trailing behind them. Eiichi had his arms around his wife and daughter.

"Good for you, Sweetheart," Kirika said. "That's the most forceful I've seen you in ages."

"Well, I have my moments," Eiichi said smugly.

"Maybe, Dad," Nenene said, "but you're still a pushover. Michelle's never going to stop talking about you after you leave…assuming she even lets you leave, of course."

Eiichi chuckled. "Now you're just exaggerating. Of course she'll let us leave." He was supremely confident of this as he watched Maggie and Yomiko form their transportation back to Tokyo out of reams of paper.

* * *

He was less confident the next morning at Narita Airport. "I don't want you to go!" Michelle yelled at the top of her lungs. She had a death grip on the elder Sumiregawas and was crying freely.

"I told you this would happen!" Anita said to Nenene.

"Michelle dear," Kirika said, "they called 'final boarding'. We have to go."

"But you won't be safe!" Michelle said. "You have to stay here, so that we can protect you all the time!"

"Michelle," Eiichi said, "we'll be fine. We have those familiars Maggie gave us to carry, so if anything happens you'll be able to find us anywhere, so we know just who to call if we need help."

"And we won't be gone forever," Kirika said. "We'll come visit again, and when you're in America, you can stay with us."

That statement seemed to get through to her. "You promise?"

Eiichi smiled. "We promise."

Michelle smiled an embarrassed smile, then slowly, reluctantly, let Kirika and Eiichi go. Both parents caught their breath, then resumed saying goodbye to everyone with hugs and kisses, leaving Nenene for last. Then they hurried to catch their plane. Everyone waited until the flight took off, then they started off for home.

As they left the airport, Michelle said to Nenene, "It's wonderful, isn't it? To have parents who love you and would do anything for you? It's wonderful to have them, and it's terrible to leave them, or watch them leave you."

When she heard that, Nenene paused in her tracks. She spotted her parents' receding flight, then smiled up at the plane.

"You know, Michelle," she said, "that's exactly what it is. Wonderful and terrible."


	5. The Odd Couple

****

DISCLAIMER:

_R.O.D. and all related characters are the property of Shuei Sha (Ultra Jump and Superdash), Manga Entertainment and New Generation Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

**R.O.D.: THE FANFICTION**

**By Darrin Colbourne**

* * *

Nenene pushed herself away from her computer and rubbed her eyes. She was taking a break after what had become a marathon writing session. She had awakened that morning with an idea for one of her characters and gone straight to work on it, and had apparently been so engrossed in her work she'd failed to notice it when Yomiko and Nancy left the room for the day. Their mutual bedroom was empty save for her.

Nenene hauled herself out of her chair and out of the room and headed downstairs. She found Nancy when she entered the living room. Nancy and Michelle were lounging on the couch, sharing a book. It was an odd thing to see, but not that mysterious. _They must only have the one copy_, Nenene thought. Then the hunger pangs she was feeling overrode the novelty of what she was seeing. "I'm hungry!" She called out.

The announcement got the other girls' attention. "I'm not surprised," Michelle said to her. "It's almost lunchtime. You worked right through breakfast."

Nenene walked over to the couch, waiting for Nancy and Michelle to straighten up and make room before plopping down in between them. "I had an idea and I needed to get it written down before I forgot it. Now I'm hungry."

Michelle got up. "Maggie's making lunch now. I'll get you some coffee while we're waiting." She trotted off to the kitchen.

"Thank you," Nenene said. She put her head back and thought about drifting off to sleep, but she realized Nancy was still on the couch with her, so she decided to be polite. "What're you two reading?"

Nancy smiled and showed her the cover of the book. "I wanted to read it, but Michelle only had the one copy and she wasn't finished, so she said I could read along with her from where she was and I could read what I missed when she was finished."

"That's nice," Nenene sighed. It didn't really matter to her either way, but she supposed it was nice for Nancy. When she looked away from the book she noticed the morning mail spread out across the table. "Did anyone go through that?"

"We were waiting for you," Michelle said. She was walking out of the kitchen with a tray with cream, sugar and three cups of coffee.

Nenene sighed again and gathered up the mail, clearing the way for Michelle to lay the tray down. She let the other girls get their coffee first while she scanned each envelope. "Bill, bill, bill…oh, for crying out loud…most of these are _bookstore_ bills!" Nancy and Michelle looked away, trying to look innocent as they sipped their tea. Nenene just frowned and soldiered on. "Bill, bill, b-wait a minute…" She paused to examine a particular envelope more closely. It was an air mail envelope.

She laid the rest of the envelopes back on the table and got up without a word. She went into the kitchen and found Maggie getting ready to set out lunch. "It's almost ready," she said when she saw Nenene.

"Hold on a minute," Nenene said. "You brought in the mail this morning, right? Did you go through it?"

"No," Maggie said. "I know you like to go through it yourself. Why do you ask?"

Nenene held up the air mail envelope. "Because this one's addressed to you."

* * *

Two days later, Maggie and Michelle were packing for a business trip. "Thanks again for letting me do this, Big Sis," Maggie said.

"It's no problem," Michelle said cheerfully. "It's not really that far out of our way. Besides, I was always sorry I never got to meet your little friend before we left Hong Kong for good."

Maggie blushed at the mention of her "little friend," someone she was just as surprised to hear from as anyone else. The air mail envelope contained a letter from Fay, the little sick girl she had befriended what seemed like a lifetime ago. The letter had been forwarded from Nenene's old address, the last place Fay would have known where to reach Maggie. The girl said she was doing fine, recovering well from her life-saving operation and living with family on the mainland. She had also said she missed Maggie terribly and wanted to see her, so the Paper Sisters were going to make a stopover in Beijing before heading on to their scheduled appointment in Russia.

"You'd really like her," Maggie said. "She's a book lover, like us."

"I know," Michelle said. "You told me."

Maggie blushed again. "Sorry. I guess it's just…" Her voice trailed off.

"I understand," Michelle said. "You like having your own special friend, don't you?" Maggie nodded. "Well, just don't forget to share her with your big sister when we get there."

Maggie thought about that for a minute. "Actually, Michelle, that's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

* * *

Two days after that, Michelle, Maggie and Anita were in an airliner touching down at the international airport in Beijing. They landed in the late afternoon and would have about an hour or so to spend with Fay and her family before they had to resume their trip. They caught a cab at the airport and took it to where Fay was living. Their destination was a small apartment building on the outskirts of the city.

Maggie's heart thumped a little more loudly than normal when they reached the right apartment. Michelle and Anita stood aside and let her be the one to knock. It was only a few seconds before someone opened the door. It was Fay's mother, Li. She beamed when she saw Maggie, then bowed deeply. "It's so good to see you again," she said.

Maggie and her sisters returned the bow. "It's good to see you too, ma'am," Maggie said. These are my sisters, Michelle and Anita."

"Please, come in, all of you!" Li said. She ushered the girls inside and closed the door. "Fay will be so happy. I'll take you right to her!" She took Maggie by the hand and led all of them out of the living room and into the hall that led to the bedrooms. She stopped at one in particular and rapped on it cheerfully. "Fay, guess who's here to see you?"

A moment later a girl just a little younger than Anita opened the door. Her eyes went wide and she grinned when she saw Maggie, and then she reached out and grabbed Maggie in a hug. Maggie blushed, not the least because she was so tall Fay was hugging her knees.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Michelle said, gearing up to pounce.

"Michelle!" Anita said sharply. "Remember your promise to Maggie!"

Michelle straightened up and huffed. "I know, I know." She raised her right hand. "'I do solemnly swear not to act like an insane octopus and strangle Maggie's little friend to death, because I might break her.'" She lowered her hand. "I promised, so I won't." Her show of restraint lasted a hot second, and ended with a giggle fit. _"But I just have to kiss her!"_ She put her hands behind her back and bent low, planting a couple of kisses on Fay's nearest cheek.

Fay giggled at the action, as little girls were wont to do at Michelle's unrestrained shows of affection. "You must be Michelle," she said.

"That's right," Michelle said. "How do you know?"

"Maggie told me all about his sisters," Fay said. "You're the beautiful but flaky one."

Michelle posed for Fay. "Well…I have been told on many occasions that I possess a certain beauty, and…wait a minute…" She froze as the word "flaky" finally made it to her brain. Maggie just blushed harder.

Fay turned to Anita. "And you must be his little sister."

"Yep, I'm Anita." Anita said.

"That means you're the bratty one," Fay said.

"Hey!" was all Anita could think of for a response. Maggie blushed harder still.

Li saved her. "Fay, why don't you show Maggie your room? I'll bring you some refreshments in a little while. Michelle, you and Anita can have refreshments with me in the living room."

Fay released Maggie's knees and took her hand, then led her into the bedroom. Michelle and Anita followed Li back into the living room. Halfway there, Anita suddenly slowed down and turned her head. "Wait, did she say '_his'_?"

* * *

In the bedroom, Maggie was surprised to see how different it was from the bedroom Fay'd lived in when they first met. This one wasn't as feminine, though there was one thing that was exactly the same: the overabundance of books.

Fay pulled the rocking chair in the room over close to the bed, then she sat on the bed while Maggie sat on the chair. "I bet you were surprised to hear from me!" Fay said.

"Surprised and glad," Maggie said. "I had been worried that you were still on Hong Kong during the disaster."

Fay shook her head. "I never got a chance to tell you. We were here visiting my aunt when that happened."

* * *

"My sister used to live here alone," Li said as she served tea and cake to Michelle and Anita. She had just come from leaving tea and cake with Fay and Maggie. "Soon after Fay's operation my sister asked us to visit her, but it was the longest time before we had the opportunity for an extended stay, and we had only been here a week before Hong Kong was destroyed. We were invited to stay, and we've been here ever since."

"That's very fortunate," Michelle said. "Not a lot of people got away from the island when it happened."

Anita raised her hand. "Excuse me," she said, "but Fay does know Maggie's a _girl_, right?"

Li giggled at that. "Oh my," she said, "Fay has been insisting Maggie's a boy since they first met, and she won't let anyone try to convince her otherwise. You see, it was her illness. Her eyesight had been degrading when she first saw Maggie, and Maggie is generally so, well, boyish…"

"Yes, boyish and _flaky_," Michelle grinned, getting her little revenge.

"Well, I just think someone should set her straight," Anita said just before taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, well I think Fay has her reasons," Li said. Her voice dropped down to a whisper, "For Fay, if Maggie's a girl, then she can't be Fay's boyfriend."

Anita's spit-take was classic. _"Boyfriend??"_

"Anita!" Michelle scolded. "Not so loud…"

* * *

Fay hadn't heard. She was too busy entertaining Maggie with tales of her medical adventures. "And then, they saw that my hair was growing back. It had been growing under the bandages, so I didn't have to be bald for long time. And I can see really well now, too! Not as well as I used to, but with glasses I don't have any trouble reading at all!"

Maggie smiled. "I'm glad you can enjoy all your books again." The sentiment made Fay beam while Maggie tried some cake. "Mmm…and this cake is really good."

Fay beamed wider. "Isn't it? I picked it out, just for you and your sisters. I tried to make one for you myself, but I messed it up, so we had to buy that one."

"It's okay," Maggie said. "You can make one for me next time we visit."

Fay almost lost it. "You mean it?" She breathed. "You're going to come back again?"

Maggie blushed and lowered her head. "Sure. Now that I know you're okay, I'll visit as often as I can."

Maggie was surprised at the lack of verbal response from Fay and didn't look up until it was too late to avoid the Big Smiling Flying Fay that was barreling toward her head. Fay's impact toppled Maggie's chair and sent them both head over heels. When they settled, Fay was laying on top of Maggie and grinning, holding her "boyfriend" in a death grip that would put Michelle to shame.

"Oh, boy…" Maggie managed to squeeze out.

* * *

"The operation was a complete success," Li told Michelle and Anita, "and the follow-up treatments are keeping her healthy, but all of it is very expensive. We had to sell our house, and saving up for even an apartment of our own has been problematic."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Michelle said, genuinely upset.

Li demurred. "Anything is worth keeping my little girl safe and healthy. I don't know what I'd do without her. I try not to think about it…" She forced herself to smile. "…and I don't have to. My daughter is healthy again, and I want to make sure she lives a very long time."

"In that case, I'm glad for you, and if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."

"Just having Maggie here is enough. Fay has been dying to see her again. Oh! Do you think you could stay for dinner?"

"Oh, thank you for offering, but we can only stay a short time today. We have to catch our connecting flight soon. We have important business in Russia."

"I understand…"

"But we can visit again on the way back home, and we'll have more time then."

"Then you'll definitely have to stay for dinner then!"

"Of course we will!"

* * *

Eventually Maggie convinced Fay to let her up, and soon they were engaged in Fay's favorite activity. Fay lay on the bed, listening with her eyes closed as Maggie read a romance novel. "'You don't know how hard it is for me to cope when you're not here,' Rina said. 'I sit by the window at all hours of the night waiting to see you come home, and hoping against hope that I won't see another officer coming to tell me that I've lost you.' 'I'm sorry," Ang said, "but my duties can sometimes keep me away for months. We've discussed this before. I thought you understood.' 'I've come to realize that understanding and accepting aren't always the same thing. I can understand, but I find it so hard to accept when you're really gone.'"

Fay sighed and rolled onto her side so she could smile at Maggie. "I love this series," she said. "Rina's one of my favorite characters. I hope it gets continued. That was the last volume published in Hong Kong before the disaster."

That made Maggie blink. She took a moment to look at the binding for the publisher's brand. Sure enough, the publisher was Dokusensha.

Maggie sighed. "You may have to wait a while for the next volume," was all she could say.

Fay shrugged. "It's okay. I can keep reading the ones I have again and again until the new one comes out."

"I guess so," Maggie said with a shrug. "Would you like to read some more of this with me?"

Fay gasped and sat up. For a moment she couldn't say anything, then she blurted out, "Okay!" She jumped out of bed and headed for her dresser. She reached for the top drawer, but paused before opening it. She turned to Maggie. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Of course I won't laugh," Maggie said. "I want to see you in them."

Fay nodded and turned back to the dresser, pulled out the top drawer and took out her glasses case, then she extracted the glasses and rested the case on the dresser table. She put the glasses on and turned around.

You look very pretty in them," Maggie said. She was sincere. The frames were thin and round and small enough to fit Fay's face nicely, enhancing the beauty that was already there.

Fay lowered her head and blushed at Maggie's praise. "Thank you…" she whispered.

"Are you ready to read with me now?"

"Yes!" Fay trotted over and stood next to Maggie's chair. "You read Ang's dialogue and I'll read Rina's, okay?"

"Um, okay…" Now Maggie blushed. It wasn't just the parts that Fay had chosen for them. The girl was standing close enough for their shoulders to touch, and Fay had placed a hand over the one Maggie was using to hold the book. She tried to put all that out of her mind as she picked up where she left off. "'I didn't know you had been feeling this way. Is there anything I can do?'"

Fay read her part with great feeling. "'I don't know. Sometimes the sense of loneliness is so profound I can't concentrate, so I just don't know.'"

"'I could resign. I would if it would make you happy.'"

"'But then you wouldn't be happy! What you do is your calling. I have no right to ask you to give it up just for me.'"

"'There must be something I can do.'"

Fay turned to Maggie and said the next line from memory. "'Just hold me. Hold me and kiss me with all the passion in your heart, so that I know that the next time you leave me, we'll still be in love.'"

Maggie blinked when she saw the next bit of narration. _Overcome with emotion, Ang did as Rina asked. He took her in his arms and leaned in to kiss her lovingly…_ Uh Oh!

Maggie turned to Fay. Sure enough, Fay had her eyes closed and her lips slightly puckered and she was leaning closer to Maggie's face. Maggie's face turned beet red and her heart started to thump. _She doesn't really expect me to…?_ Apparently she did. Fay was being incredibly patient, waiting for Maggie to kiss her before they continued. Maggie was at a loss as to what to do, but finally decided that she was there to make Fay happy, however she had to do it. With that thought in mind, she found the courage to pucker up and slowly, unsteadily, bring her lips to Fay's.

Just centimeters before the lips made contact, there was an insistent rapping on the bedroom door. "Fay!" Li called from the hallway. "It's time for Maggie to go!"

That snapped Fay out of her pose. She sounded annoyed when she moved from where she was standing and trotted over to the door. "But we haven't finished reading yet!" Maggie took the chance to look away and breathe a sigh of relief.

Fay opened the door and found her mother, Michelle and Anita standing outside. "We're sorry," Michelle said, "but we have to leave now if we're going to get back to the airport in time to catch our next flight."

"Really?" Fay said. Whatever annoyance had been in her voice before gave way to sadness. "You can't stay just a little longer?"

Maggie stood and answered. "I'm sorry, but we're working on a very important case right now, so we have to go."

"Oh…but you'll come back again, right? You said you'd visit again soon."

"I promise. We'll stop by again on our way home. Right, Sis?"

"Right!" Michelle said. "And we'll have more time to spend then, so don't be sad, okay?"

Fay looked at Michelle and thought about it, then looked at Maggie and smiled. "Okay. I won't be sad." She ran over and hugged Maggie's knees again. "I'll miss you."

Maggie crouched down and hugged Fay back as best she could. "I'll miss you too, Fay."

* * *

In the cab on the way back to the airport, Maggie sat with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. Michelle smirked when she saw this. "I've never seen you so happy."

"It's good to see that Fay's still okay," Maggie said. "I mean, I knew that from the letter, but it was nice to _see_, Y'know?"

"Mm-hmm, and I promise we'll try to visit her more often so that you're not out of touch with each other for too long."

"Thanks, Michelle."

The elder Paper Sisters settled into the ride, while Anita looked at them, alternating between Michelle and Maggie. Finally she locked her gaze on Maggie and blurted out, "Do you know she thinks you're her _boyfriend??_"

Maggie's eyes opened wide and she gasped as she turned red again. "Anita!" Michelle scolded. "Just let it go!"

"But it's weird!" Anita complained. "Somebody should tell her that Maggie's a girl! You should show her, Mags! When we come back, you should undress in front of her!"

Maggie turned redder. "Anita!" Michelle repeated.

It was a long ride back to the airport.


End file.
